Sketches of China : partly during an inland journey of four months, between Peking, Nanking, and Canton; with notices and observations relative to the present war

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SKETCHES OF CHINA.

VOLUME I.

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V ■ Digitized by CjOOQIC

SKETCHES OF CHINA.

VOLUME I.

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SKETCHES

C H I N A;

PABTLY DURING AN INLAND JOURNEY OF FOUR MONTHS.
BETWEEN

PEKING, NANKING, AND CANTON ;

NOTICES AND OBSERVATIONS RELATIVE TO THE

PRESENT WAR.

Bt JOHN FRANCIS DAVIS, Esq., F.R.S., &c.

Lttle Sit Majatj^t Chief Saperiiitatdmt « CMna.

VOL. i.

LONDON:
CHARLES KNIGHT & CO., LUDGATE STREET.

1841.

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V.I

LONXX)N:

Printed by William Clowxs and Sons,
Stamford Street.

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ALGERNON LORD PRUDHOE,

THE FOLLOWING PAGES

ABE INSCRIBED.

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ADVERTISEMENT.

To the deep and growing interest which the
present crisis in our relations with China has
excited in the public mind, the following work
owes its publication. Whatever may be the
ultimate result of our armed measures to-
wards the government of that country — whe-
ther one of renewed and more intimate inter-
course, or of exclusive and lasting hostility —
this account of the internal features, physical
and moral, of the empire, may in either case
be useful: in the first, as an introduction to
more extended and familiar knowledge of the
subject; in the last, as an improvement of
opportunities not likely very soon to recur.

Hollywood, Gloucestershire,
February 25, 1841.

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*in* The map having been generally constructed from
that of the Jesuits, some little dififerences occur in the
names of places as spelt in this work, but the variations in
orthography are slight.

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CONTENTS OF VOL. I.

CHAPTER I.

China one great anomaly — obstacles to its solution — ^the
author sets out for Peking by sea — description of Hong--
kong — portrait-sketching a difficult pursuit at that place
— singular mode of fishing — good news from Peking —
hydrography of the coast — casualty at sea — coast of Fo-
kien — island of Formosa — objection to its military occu-
pation — rice and tea trade always prohibited by sea — ^rice
admitted in ships at Canton — consequences of blockade
— Chusan and its neighbourhood— digression concerning
Japan and LoocAoo— recent visits of Mr. Gutzlaff to
those countries ..... Page 1

CHAPTER II.

Promontory of Shantong — ^Yellow sea and its shoal waters
— visit of mandarins to the squadron — appointment of
a Kinchae to receive the mission — consternation produced
by a portrait of the Emperor — everything good manu-
factured at Canton — Chinese hospitality on shore — recep-
tion of Grandees on board the frigate — ^preparation for
landing at the Pdho— junks laden with baggage — ^land-
ing and first interview with Imperial Commissioner —
description of accommodation barges — ^infliction of sum-
mary punishment — marshy shores of the Pdho — ap-
proach to Tien-tsin — ^reflections on Tartar ceremony 27

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CONTENTS.

CHAPTER III.

Immense crowds at Tien-tsin — appearance and arms of
military — word valour oddly placed— visits to and from
the Kinchae — precedence of the left and right — unfavour-
able symptoms — a recognition — procession to Imperial
entertainment— preliminary discussion — Chinese veracity
— ^bows substituted for ko-tow — feast and theatrical per-
formance — scene from a Chinese comedy quoted . p. 58

CHAPTER IV.

Imperial liberality — distance of Peking from the sea — a
difficult country — Chinese Mahometans — pork and beef
points of conscience — immense numbers of grain junks —
Imperial Commissioners described — importance attached
to names — Emperor's caprice — a scene with the Chinese
Commissioners — arms and accoutrements of soldiers —
abrupt conduct of the legates — ^bye-play in diplomacy —
" a foolish officer" — dangers of starvation — a Chinese hero
— ^arrival at Tungchow — fruitless negociations . p. 15

CHAPTER V.

An inroad of Tartars — successfully repelled — ^the Emperor
has long ears — visit to Tungchow — haughty reception
— reply to the same — ^letter to Emperor returned —
programme of intended audience at Peking — unfavour-
able symptoms — attack' from an unexpected quarter —
increased restraints — passports demanded — Chinese be-
come civil — a conference proposed • . p. 105

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CONTENTS. XI

CHAPTER VI.

Altered conduct of Duke Ho — consequent deliberation and
its result — hurried proceedings of the Chinese — departure
for Peking — Chinese team in Jjondon harness — descrip-
tion of the journey — city of Peking — one-horse carts —
arrival at Yuenmingyuen — strange occurrences at the
palace — abrupt rejection of mission — night journey to
Tungchow — exchange of presents proposed by Emperor
— ^historical account of an ambassador's fate . p. 134

CHAPTER VII.

Preparations to travel south — character of conducting man-
darins — Kang and Queen's pictures — Chinese fortune-
tellers — ^neglect of sepulture in accidental cases — ^limited
extent of infanticide — ^late occurrences at Peking ex-
plained — ^inequality of climate — Chinese gymnastics —
superstitions — a man of general knowledge — ^tortoises
sacred animals — similarity of the Chinese in the north
and south — quit the Peiho towards the canal — ^import-
ance of Tiert'tsin in a war — promotion of conducting man-
darin, and reasons — ^his good-breeding — noisy boatmen
— alluvial coimtry — music described — building de-
dicated to summer solstice — town of Tsinghien — song
of the husbandmen — accident at Nanpehien — docu-
ment from Emperor — enter Shantung province . p. 166

CHAPTER VIII.

Change of mandarin attendants — city of TechoWy and re-
spectful behaviour of some mandarins — improved appear-
ances to the southward — words strength and valour

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XU CONTENTS.

written on soldiers* dretseB — reach Ltntsingchow^ where
canal commences — pagoda in honour of relics — ^religious
freedom on certain conditions — Stoics, Pythagoreans, and
Epicureans of China — subscriptions for books of morality
— Book of Rewards and Punishments . p. 209

CHAPTER IX.

Enter the Canal — extends seven degrees of latitude —
dragon robes — military features — flood-gates — highest
point of Caual — the dragon king — ^town of Tse-ning-
chow — unhealthy tract — immense inundations — en-
ter Keangnan — improvement of country — preparation
for sacrifice — crossing the Yellow river — frozen in win-
ter — shooting the sluices — Chinese horses — temple to
empress-mother — curious maxims of government — boats
lashed in pairs — a city below the Canal — Paou't/ing-
hien and lake — fishing-birds — the lofty and bright tem-
ple — change of boats — sacred fish — winter cap adopted
by Kinchae ..... p. 245

CHAPTER X.

A man drowned — inhumanity of the crew — indiscriminate
law of homicide — tale of the Poor Scholar in illustra-
tion — a misfortune remedied— a calamity — measures of
concealment — ^the doctor called — fails to come — a slave
punished— his revenge — the scholar accused — evidence
against him — forced admission of guilt — a ghost — the
,dead alive — a scheme of villany disclosed — the accused
acquitted — conclusion of the tale . . p. 290

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SKETCHES

OF

CHINA,

CHAPTER I.

China one great anomaly — obstacles to its solution — ^the-
author sets out for Peking by sea — description of Hong-
kong — portrait-sketching a difficult pursuit at that place
— singular mode of fishing — good news from Peking —
hydrography of the coast — casualty at sea — coast of Fo-
kien — island of Formosa — objection to its military occu-
pation — rice and tea trade always prohibited by sea — rice
admitted in ships at Canton — consequences of blockade
— Chusan and its neighbourhood — digression concerning
Japan and LoocAoo— recent visits of Mr. Gutzlaff to
those countries.

In a new work on Political Philosophy, attri-
buted generally to a personage of high literary
and social rank, there is a rapid view of the
Chinese institutions, in a chapter exclusively
devoted to that subject. This chapter com-
mences by a brief and striking summary of the

VOL. I. B

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2 • '-. ; • • . -J • ^^LCTCQ^ OPT CHINA.

msLTveh and apparent inconsistencies which
China presents to the eye of the commonest
observer, as well as to the keener inspection of
the political reasoner. " A territory of enor-
mous extent, stretching fourteen hundred miles
from east to west, and as many from north to
south, peopled by above three hundred mil-
lions of persons, all living under one sovereign
— ^preserving their customs for a period far be-
yond the beginning of authentic history else-
where — civilised when Europe was sunk in
barbarism — ^possessed many centuries before
ourselves of the arts which we deem the prin-
cipal triumphs of civilisation, and even yet
not equalled by the industry and enterprise of
the West in the prodigious extent of their public
works — with a huge wall of fifteen hundred
miles in length, built two thousand years ago,
and a canal of seven hundred, four centuries
before any canal had ever been known in
Europe, — the sight of such a country and such
a nation is mightily calculated to fix the atten-
tion of the most careless observer, and to warm
the fancy of the most indiflferent.

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ONE GREAT ANOMALY. 3

" But there are yet more strange things un-
folded in the same quarter to the eye of the
political philosopher. All this vast empire
under a single head, its countless myriads of
people yielding an obedience so regular and so
mechanical that the government is exercised as
if the control were over animals, or masses of
inert matter ; the military force at the ruler s
disposal so insignificant that the mere physical
pressure of the crowd must instantly destroy it
were the least resistance attempted ; the people
all this while not only not plunged in rude
ignorance, but actually more generally possessed
of knowledge to a certain extent, and more
highly prizing it than any other nation in the
world ; the institutions of the country established
for much above five-and-twenty centuries, and
never changing or varjdng (in principle at least)
during that vast period of time; the inhabit-
ants, with all their refinement and their early
progress in knowledge and in the arts, never
passing a certain low point; so that they exhibit
the only instance in the history of our species
of improvement being permanently arrested in

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4 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

its progress; the resources of this civilised state
incalculable, yet not able to prevent two com-
plete conquests by a horde of barbarians, or to
chastise the piracies of a neighbouring island,*
or to subdue a petty tribef existing, troublesome
and independent, in the centre of a monarchy
which seems as if it could crush them by a
single movement of its body ; the police of the
state all powerful in certain directions, and in
others so weak as to habitually give way
for fear of being defeated; the policy of the
state an unexampled mixture of wisdom and
folly — profound views and superficial errors —
patronage of art and of science, combined with
prohibition of foreign improvements — encou-
ragement of domestic industry, with exclusion
of external commerce — ^promotion of inland
manufactures and trade, without employing the
precious metals as a medium of exchange — suf-
fering perpetually from the population encroach-
ing upon the means of subsistence, and yet
systematically stimulating the increase of its
numbers, removing every check which might
* Japan. t Meaou-tse.

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OBSTACLES TO ITS SOLUTION. 5

mitigate the evil, and closing every outlet for
the redundancy."

These things are certainly calculated to puzzle
us of the west ; but fully proportionate to the
interest of the subject has been the difficulty,
to Europeans, of obtaining that full and accu-
rate information which alone can afford data
for our reasonings, or a clue to the explanation
of the several anomalies above stated. Our two
most effectual means of inquiry have been a
knowledge of the language, and the openings
afforded by the royal missions to Peking. It
was the go6d fortune of the writer of this to
be officially attached to an embassy from the
court of London to the Emperor of China, or
Great Cham of Tartary^ as the older books
have it. This was an event (seeing that such
English visits to Peking have been of the rarest
occurrence) worthy to form an era in any man's
life, but to himself it derived an additional value
from peculiar circumstances. At the early age
of eighteen he had devoted himself to the in-
vestigation of all that could by any possibility
be learned of that real " terra incognita" to
which the mission in question was destined; and

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6 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

•about two years' close attention to the subject
(including the language especially) was followed
by the altogether unsolicited boon — sufficiently
prized by the favored few to whose lot it fell
— of proceeding in person, under the high
auspices and introduction of a public embassy,
to read the sealed book.

The squadron of two ships, two surveying-
vessels, and a brig-of-war, came to an anchor on
the evening of the 10th July off Hong-koiigy*
an island about thirty-five miles due east of
Macao, and lately celebrated as the rendezvous
of our large fleet of merchant vessels, during
the suspension of trade arising out of the out-
rageous exploits of Commissioner Lin at Canton.
A fine torrent of water, falling in a cascade from
a considerable cliff, and then flowing across the
beach strewn with rocks into the sea, offers
great advantages to ships in watering, and we
accordingly took occasion to " fill up" at this
place. The short delay caused by this indis-

* The name Hong-kong is a provincial corruption of
Hoong-keangj " the red torrent," from the colour of the
soil through which the stream flows previous to its fall over
the cliff.

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PORTRAIT-SKETCHING. 7

pensable operation gave occasion to several visits
to the land, being to most of those on board
the squadron their first introduction to the ce-
lestial regions. The two gentlemen who acted
in the several capacities of naturalist and artist
to the mission went on shore, the one with his
scientific apparatus, the other with his pencils
and sketch-book. The first pronounced the
rocks to be partly of trap or volcanic origin (the
only specimen discovered on that part of the
coast) ; the last attempted to seize with his pencil
the various groups of the natives, as these
crowded round him in all the eagerness of in-
satiable curiosity. This however was no easy
task, for as each saw the eye of the limner
fixed earnestly upon himself, he suddenly
wheeled round to the rear to look over the
artist's shoulder and observe progress ; and as
our excellent draughtsman was not the most
patient of his profession, the eflfect became rather
ridiculous. The sight of Europeans was to
these people, mostly fishermen, a novel one, for
until then the spot had been seldom visited, and
to such of the embassy as were accustomed to

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8 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

the impertinence of the Canton people their
beliaviour appeared very quiet and civil. We
had occasion, during our stay at the anchorage,
to remark their singular mode of fishing. They
create a horrible din by their gongs and shout-
ing, and beat in the most frantic manner the
surface of the calm water with oars and large
sticks. By this process they appear to bewilder
and stun the fish, and to drive them into their
nets in considerable numbers. We observed,
at least, that great success attended their labours.
Indeed, any person, who has verified by expe-
riment the extraordinary power of conveying
sound exhibited by water, need not be surprised
at the efl&cacy of this plan of frightening out
of their wits the finny tribes, who would seem
to possess the faculty of hearing in a very sen-
sible degree.

Before we left our anchorage at Hong-kongy
it was satisfactory to receive from Macao the
favourable intelligence that the emperor, on
hearing of the approach of the British embassy,
had appointed three mandarins of high rank to
meet it at Tientsin, expressing at the same time

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HYDROGRAPHY OF THE COAST. 9

his gratification at the compliment. The
original document was worded in the inflated
and absurd style common to these productions ;
but the main fact remained the same— the
mission was received, and allowed to enter
the empire at the point fixed upon by those
who sent it.

On the 14th of July we passed a conspicuous
rock near the coast of the Canton province,
called in Portuguese Pedra hranca^ or the
" White Stone," which serves as a useful mark
to ships making the coast from the eastward.
The whole sea-line of the province has been
very accurately laid down, for the purposes of
navigation, almost entirely at the expense of the
East India Company, whose munificent contri-
butions to the science of hydrography in the
eastern and China seas are not always known
or appreciated by those who profit by them.
To the north of that province, however, the
coast has been so little frequented that our
knowledge of it is but scanty, and the conse-
quent risk incurred by any large ship which
proceeds to the mouth of the Pexho (north river)

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10 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

in the neighbourhood of Peking renders the
greatest care necessary.

As the squadron sailed along with a fine
favorable breeze, the beauty of the weather and
the stirring scenes in anticipation naturally con-
tributed to put everybody on board in high spirits.
In the midst of our gaiety, however, one of those
fatal accidents, which occasionally happen in
large ships from the perilous nature of the duty,
threw a sudden damp on the general cheerful-
ness. After dusk in the evening, I chanced to
be mounting the poop-ladder, when the faU of
something heavy on the starboard hammock
nettings suddenly startled me; though I was
unable to tell what it was, as the object bounded
with great force from the ship's side and fell
at once overboard. My first impression, from
the sound, led me to conclude that it must be
a large block from the rigging, and to congra-
tulate myself on my narrow escape, fis it fell
only a few feet from me, — but the speedy cry
of " some one overboard" announced at once
the fatal truth. The ship was brought to, and
a boat lowered with all possible speed; though

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CASUALTY AT SEA. 11

all in vain, for the poor lad, a young midship-
man, was never again seen. It may easily be
imagined that when a large ship is going
through the water at the rate of nine or ten
knots an hour, the acquired velocity of such a
huge moving mass must urge it to the distance
even of miles, before its motion can be checked
by taking in sail and " bringing the ship's head
round." Then, again, this requisite manoeuvre
of altering the ship's bearings bewilders most
of those on board, -who naturally look out from
the stem of the vessel, while the real place of
the unfortunate object of their search may, by
this time, be on the larboard or starboard side,
or perhaps even arhead. In addition to all this,
as the head alone is visible of a person immersed
in the water, this presents so small an object
for. vision, at even a trifling distance, as to add
greatly to the difficulty of discovery on these
distressing occasions. Ingenuity has therefore
contrived a life-buoy, to be kept fastened at the
sterns of large vessels, and cast off in an in-
stant when required on any emergency of the
foregoing kind. The very act of letting it go

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12 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

strikes a light which guides both the sufferer
and those on board during the night; and
should the accident happen by day, the life-
buoy displays a small flag.

In three days the squadron was off the coast of
Fokien, a maritime province, in the northern
part of which is grown the best of the large
black-leafed tea, called by us in England bohea,
and by the Chinese Ta cha, or " large tea," be-
cause it is allowed to remain on the tree until
the leaves have attained full maturity and size.
Being the most bulky, and the least laboured in
the manufacture, wliile at the same time the late
period of gathering does but little injury to the
health of the plant, bohea is for all these
reasons combined the cheapest kind of tea.
We cast a wistful eye from our ships at the
Chinese coast, a few miles off, and with the
help of a glass could discover a few scattered
villages, apparently fishermen's houses. The
shore was generally low, with barren hills a
little way inland.

On our right lay the great island of For-
mosa, of which the coast facing the main-land

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ISLAND OF FORMOSA. IS

of Fokien pertains to China, and is included in
the government of that province. A chain of
mountains divides the island longitudinally,
and separates the Chinese colony from the
aborigines on the east. Formosa was the last
portion of the present Chinese empire that
submitted to the Manchow Tartars ; its separa-
tion by the sea having rendered it for years
defencible against the fleets that were sent to
subdue it. Placed opposite to the most opulent
and commercial maritime provinces, at a dis-
tance of little more than twenty leagues, For-
mosa oflFers a tempting position to any European
power disposed to try the occupation of it, as
a means of pushing its trade with the empire.
The Dutch, indeed, had a settlement and forts
on the south-west coast previous to the Man-
chow Tartar conquest ; but the multitudes of
Chinese who sought shelter there from the
Tartar dominion, soon led to its almost entire
colonisation by that people. The commander
of a large squadron of junks, by name Koshinga,
who had long defied the Manchows, entered
into a correspondence with his countrymen

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14 SKETCHES OP CHWA.

on shore, and preparations ware at length
made for attacking Fort Zealand, and driying
out the Dutch, in order to obtain the dominion
of the island. After a gallant defence by the
garrison, the superior numbers and arts of the
Chinese succeeded in expelling the Hollanders^
and making Koshinga independent sovereign
of the island, in 1662. The English entered
into a commercial treaty with this '' King of
Taywan," as the old records call him. They
were even more hardly treated than at Canton,
being obliged to deliver up their guns and
ammunition before they were permitted to
trade; and the vexations experienced here at
length led to the abandonment of all inter-
course. Formosa continued independent for
about twenty years, until it was surrendered
by the grandson of Koshinga to the Tartar-
Chinese Emperor.

The great size of this island, which measures
at least 200 miles in length, is the chief objec-
tion to its occupation, besides the want of good
harbours. As it is known to supply a con-
siderable quantity of rice for the consumption

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TEA-TRADE PROHIBITED BY SEA. 15

of the empire, the interception of this might
be found an object in the prosecution of hos-
tilities by sea. But the policy of the Chinese
in the construction of their grand canal, and
the confinement of the trade in grain to inland
navigation almost exclusively, renders them
singularly exempt from this species of annoy-
ance, which could only be effectually exercised
by blockading the southern part of the canal,
where it crosses the great river Keang, near
its mouth. With the same jealous regard for
another chief article of consumption, the trans-
port of tea by sea-vessels coastwise has long
been prohibited; a circumstance which mili-
tates against the chance of a smuggling trade
in tea to any extent. The small bulk of
opium, in proportion to its cost, is one of the
principal causes which has rendered the "black
commodity" — or, to use another of their slang
terms, the "foreign smoke" — the only article
of trade on the coasts to the eastward of Can-
ton. This circumstance of small bulk as an
ingredient in smuggling must not be lost sight
of, even when we take into full account the

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16 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

unconquerable passion for opium^ which leads
the people to use it until the emaciation conse-
quent thereon makes them resemble " a paddy-
bird in figure, and a pigeon in the face," — to
use their own expression.

As regards a supply of rice, it may be
remarked that one vulnerable point has been
created, (in the single instance of the Canton
province,) by the policy of the local government
since the year 1825, in offering very powerful
encouragements to European vessels to import
that necessary of life from Manilla and else-
where. The exemption of rice ships from the
heavy port-charges has led to a large importa-
tion of late years, to the prejudice of other
foreign commodities. The sudden cutting off
of so considerable a supply of rice by blockade,
at the same time that the population of Canton
are deprived of their usual means of livelihood,
resulting from the European trade, can scarcely
fail of producing very serious effects to that
province at least.*

* The expenses alone of a war with Eugland must be
unwelcome to the Peking government, at a period when

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ISLAND OF CHUSAN. 17

On getting clear of the Strait of Formosa,
our squadron steered north by east, with the
wind right aft, and on the morning of the 19th
we found ourselves abreast of Chusan,* a large
island about fifty miles to the eastward of
Ningpo, the former seat of European trade,
from which the jealousy of the present Tartar
rulers of China banished it to Canton, the
point most distant from Peking. In the de-
lightful climate which prevails in this vicinity
of the sea-coast, from the 30th to the 32nd
degree of latitude, are centered a large portion
of the riches and pleasures of the Chinese
Empire. They have a common saying, " Shang

the necessary outlay of the empire has for some years
exceeded the annual income to a serious amount. About
the year 1833, the defalcation amounted to as much as thirty
millions of tales, or ten millions sterling. In a country
where funding has never been fallen upon, and where
great difficulties exist to the imposition of direct taxes,
some embarrassment must arise from unlooked-for sources
of heavy expenditure. — See ' Chinese,' Vol. II. p. 42*7, large
edition.

* The excellent harbours of this island and its neigh-
bourhood render it a very advantageous station for a naval
squadron.

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18 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

yew Thien-thang — Hea yew Soo-Hang.** —
"Above is Paradise (heaven's hall); below
are Soochow and Hangchow."

The two cities here named, being seated in
the midst of the beautiful tea and silk districts,
and about the confluence of the grand canal
with the two great rivers of the empire, at the
same time that the neighbourhood of the sea
gives them the advantages of maritime com-
merce, combine within themselves every source
of wealth and prosperity, as well as pleasure.
The numerous junks which we saw in the
neighbourhood of the coast bore evidence to
the extensive trade carried on from these cities
with Japan, Loochoo, and other places to the
eastward, as well as with the maritime pro-
vinces of the empire.

Amidst the dry official details of the famous
*'Blue Book," printed for the two Houses of
Parliament during the last session, an agree-
able episode occurs in the history of a voyage
to Loochoo and Japan in 1837, performed by
Mr. Gutzlaff in H.M. ship Raleigh, Captain
Quin, accompanied by the ship Morrison. As

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VISITS TO LOOCHOO AND JAPAN. 19

the course of our narrative has brought us
into the neighbourhood of these rarely-visited
countries, it may be as well to give an outline
of the latest news concerning them. There is
no saying what may resiJt from the progress
of the pending hostilities with China, as re-
gards a repetition of our hitherto fruitless visits
to their shores. At Loochoo we have been
invariably met with a jealous and timid, though
effectual exclusion; at Japan with uncompro-
mising and hostile repulse.

When Mr. Gutzlaff and his companions
landed at Loochoo, they were received by the
chiefs with evident reluctance; but having
succeeded in allaying their fears, the visitors
proceeded to the city Napakeang. It took
them about an hour to walk at a rapid pace
through the whole length of the town. All
the houses were surrounded by a stone wall,
which also encloses a garden, and the dwellings
were mostly built of wood, one story high,
with a small verandah in the Japanese style
in front. It is strange that the party did not
perceive a single shop or any articles offered

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20 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

for sale ; but this surely must have been inci-
dental to their visit, and the result of an order
from the chiefs. A very wretched aspect was
presented by the population, if we are to believe
this account, and one altogether at variance
with the description of Captain Hall, who
must have viewed the people in their holiday
dress. There were multitudes of beggars in
the most squalid condition. But greater sur-
prise was excited by the miserable look of the
women, who are described as " raw-boned, and
the very picture of ugliness, with only a scanty
covering, and this almost in tatters." A whole
row of these came down from the hills, carrying
burdens, in company with some ponies, with
whom they seemed to rank on a par. The few
acres the visitors passed in their ramble were
cultivated with potatoes, pulse, and grains ; but
the peasantry seemed a hard-working, ill-requited
race. The fishermen are peculiarly hardy and
adventurous. They go, in their canoes hol-
lowed out of a single tree, to a great dis-
tance from the land, taking only a bucket of
water and some potatoes for their subsistence;

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VISITS TO LOOCHOO AND JAPAN. 21

and upon this they maintain themselves for
days together, until they have got a load of
fish. They were seen with harpoons in pur-
suit of sharks and other large fish, able with
a blow of their tails to upset the little boats.

The Loochooans, it seems, do not improve
upon a nearer inspection. Nearly two hundr^
years ago the Prince of the Japanese princi-
pality Satzuma (the southernmost, and next to
Loochoo) took forcible possession of these
islands, and the government accordingly ap-
proaches to a Japanese despotism, the most
truculent on earth. Both China and Japan
claim supremacy^ over Lochoo, but the former
is satisfied with an annual embassy, while the
latter levies a substantial tribute. Fifteen junks
annually trade with Satzuma in Japan, while
two are sent to the capital city of Fokien in
China. Living, as those poor Loochooans do,
between the two most jealous nations in the
world, and in the power of either, we cannot
be surprised at the consternation which they
feel on every European visit. My. Gutzlaff
gives a formidable account of the warlike re^

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22 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

sources of Loochoo: "At the fort on the en-
trance they had stationed seven soldiers with
clvhsy in order to give something like a mi-
litary appearance to their harbour." For
the provisions furnished to the Raleigh the
people would on no account receive compen-
sation, for fear of the accusation of trading
with foreigners; they declared that they should
lose their heads in consequence.

Mr. Gutzlaff had charge of seven ship-
wrecked Japanese, whom he was to restore, if
possible, to their country. This country, which
for two centuries is said to have enjoyed perfect
tranquillity, was then in a state of rebellion.
A dreadful gale, in the previous month of Au-
gust, which was said to have lasted for ten
days, had destroyed the crops — ^being something
like a Chinese typhoon, or worse, from its du-
ration. The consequence was a severe dearth
and famine, which at length led the starving
people of Osaha, the principal emporium, to
rise upon the corn-merchants and either rob or
destroy their stores. The government, in order
to quell the insurrection, attacked the insur-

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VISITS TO LOOCHOO AND JAPAN. 23

gents, and the whole city became a prey to the
flames. In the capital Yedo itself, the inha-
bitants had risen against the government, and
the contest had not yet been decided. These
circumstances, probably, aggravated the ill re-
ception, or rather the no reception at all,
which the ship Morrison met with.

They wondered to see so few junks cruising
about on their approach to the bay of Yedo.
The crew of one which passed near them
showed no symptoms of fear, and they found
that the people beyond the reach of their rulers
were friendly to strangers. But the govern-
ment obliges them to build their vessels so
slenderly of fir as to be scarcely seaworthy;
with a view, it is said, to prevent their visit-
ing foreign countries. The weather was rainy
when the ship worked into the bay; yet the
mandarins seemed aware of their approach,
and commenced a fire from several forts.
When a shot fell about half a mile from them,
the captain of the Morrison judged it prudent
to come to an anchor. They had addressed a
letter to the government, stating that they

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24 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

brought seven shipwrecked natives back to their
homes. A crowd of natives presently came
upon deck, some of them absolutely naked,
others with a kind of shirt, but none of them
with trousers. Their heads were shaven in
front, while the hair of the hinder part was
tied up in a knot. A large boat was soon ob-
served pulling towards them from the fort, with
a " well-dressed" person on board. This gentie-
man, it may be presumed, had that particular
article of dress which the others wanted. Hp
politely refused an invitation on board, and
having rowed round the ship (no doubt for the
purpose of reconnoitring the guns, which how-
ever had all been left behind), he returned to
the shore. Among the motley group that
crowded the deck it was soon surmised that
some were spies, from their particular inquiries
concerning the guns; and it appeared, early in
the morning, that in expecting permission to
land they had reckoned without their host, for
as soon as the day dawned the forts (having
received the satisfactory intelligence that the
ship was unarmed) began to fire, the shot

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VISIT TO LOOCHOO AND JAPAN. 25

falling in all directions, some passing through
the rigging, others pitching astern, and one
striking the deck through the port. It was
now time for the defenceless ship to get under
weigh, but the fort continued to fire while she
was within reach. Being only twenty miles
from the capital, the orders for their expulsion
must have come direct from the court. Some
officer had on former occasions always visited
every ship, so that this increased vigilance and
hostility was something new; perhaps the re-
sult of fears occasioned by the late rebellion, or
of acts committed by the European whalers on
the coasts. The seven Japanese prudently de-
clined going ashore under these circumstances,
and the vessel therefore steered for Kagosima, the
capital of Satzuma. On entering the bay, two
of the Japanese were despatched to the next
military station. The mandarins seemed touched
by the history of their shipwreck and preser-
vation, and promised every assistance. Boat-
loads of water were sent off to the ship, and
a statement of circumstances forwarded to the
Prince of Satzuma. Being requested to anchor
VOL. I. c

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S6 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

opposite to a partkular village the captain of
the Morrison proceeded thither under the gnid*
ance of a native pilot; but after waiting three
dap they were desired to sail away, and per^
mission was refused for the seven Japanese to
land ! The ominous striped doth was lowared,
and the forts began to fire on the ship. In
beating out of the bay, they were fired upon
from six projecting points of land during a
space of twelve hours, but the shot all fell
short, and no harm was done. The Japanese
natives^ on whose account the voyage had been
principally undertaken, went back to Macao in
the ship; a striking example of the unre-
lenting charaet^ of their government.

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27

CHAPTER IL

Promontory of Shantong — Yellow sea and its shoal waters
— visit of Mandarins to the squadron — ^appointment of
a Kinchae to receive the missioA-^conitemation produced
by a p<Hrtrait ©f the Emperor — everythii^ good manu"-
factured at Canton — Chinese hospitality on shore — recep^
tion of Grandees on board the frigate — ^preparation for
landing at the Peiho — junks laden wMi baggage^and-
inig and first interview with imperial Cemmisaioner—
description of accommodation barges — ^infliction of sum-
mary punishment — marshy shores of the Peiho — ap-
proach to Tien-tsin — reflections on Tartar ca-emony.

On tlie moruiiig of tjie 25th of July we found
ourselves close to some land, which, frona the
latitiide hy account (in the absence of ohserva-
tbnn), waaconeluded to he a part of the Shantoi^
promosktoxy. The wind beio^ very light. Cap*
tain Ba«il Hall was eommissioued by the am-
baasador to proceed in the brig, accompanied hy
one of the swite, to the mouth of the Peking
river, in order to announce the approach of the
mission. On tiber^Tthji^^passed the Miataou

c2

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28 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

islands, and on the 28tli came to an anchor as
nearly as we could safely approach to the en-
trance of the Peiho, or " North river," which
has often been erroneously termed the " White
river.

We were in only five fathoms water, but still
out of sight of land, which lay fully ten miles
oflF. In fact the whole gulf of Peking (or the
Yellow sea) is one vast shoal, and there seem
to be many reasons for supposing that the Yellow
river, which now reaches the sea to the south of
the Shantong promontory, at one time flowed
into the gulf on the north side. Its enormous
depositions of mud are now and have been long
creating extensive shoals near its inouth, so as to
impede the exit of the vast body of waters;
and this circumstance, joined to the nature of
the flat country through which the Yellow river
flows, explains the perpetual and devastating
inundations which led the Emperor Keaking
to call it "China's Sorrow." But we shall
have to cross this celebrated stream hereafter.

The brig lay in sight of our anchorage, and
of course much nearer the land, as her small

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YELLOW SEA AND ITS SHOAL WATERS. 29

size enabled her to ride in only three fathoms
water. Still no communication took place with
the shore, and a signal of recall was made to the
Lyra, which a dead calm with an adverse tide
prevented her from immediately obeying. To-
wards night on the 29th, however, a breeze
sprung up, and the brig soon arrived with the
intelligence that two inferior mandarins had
been on board, and received the ambassador's
letter to the viceroy, which was to be forwarded
without delay. An answer was to be expected in
two days, and it was added that the viceroy him-
self might be here in about that time. The fact
seemed to be, that though the news of the em-
bassy's approach must have long since reached
Peking, the people on this coast were not in-
formed of it, and therefore altogether unpre-
pared. Our passage from the neighbourhood
of Canton had been so rapid as greatly to an-
ticipate the expectations of the Chinese, whose
junks, with their bluff and almost square bows,
make but tedious passages compared with Eu-
ropean sailing vessels.

During the period which a succession of

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30 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

stormy weather, combined with other circum-*
rtance8> compiled us to spend at this tedious
anchorage, our principal amusement was to
watch the great numbers of junks and boats
which frequent the seaport of the capitel of
China. They at first exhibited a considerable
shyness, alarmed perhaps by the novel i^pear-
ance of our ships; but, when better acqudnted
with the nature of the visit, this gradually wore
off, and many of them approached near enough
for a close inspection. The sails were of mat,
M at Canton, but of a stiffer description, and
instead of &lling down when lowered as canvas
might do, they were constructed in the manner
of a folding screen or fan.

At length a small junk with flags and
streamers was seen approaching the frigate, and
having come alongside, a party of mandarins
with their numerous squad of followers mounted
the accommodation ladder. These officers wete
of a very inferior rank, and of the military
order, the highest having only a crystal button.
They appeared much surprised at what they
saw around them, and their followers were in

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VISIT OF MANDARIKB* S 1

all parts of the diip. They announced tiiat
the viceroy of Pechely had been recalled, and
another appointed in his place; a circumstance
which would occasion delay in our landing.
His excellency's letter had been forwarded
to the viceroy elect at Peking. Three man-*
darins of rank, however, were already at hand
to receive us. The first, Kwong Tajin,* die
commissions of salt duties, bore the «nperor'g
special mandate to conduct the ^nbassy, and
was therefore styled by us the legate, and by the
Chinese Kmchae. The two others were Chang
and Yin Tajin, a civil and military mandarin,
decorated with a blue and red button respec-
tively. The legate himself bore only a crystal
button; so that th^ eommis^ns were in the
inverse order of the buttons on their caps;
proving (what I had often before remarked)
that tlie ball or button is nothing more than a
decorationy conferred even upon Hong merw
chants in consideration of large sums of money,
and that it has little to do with real authority
aad station.

* The 9&Z of Tajin meanB a grandee.

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32 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

The mandarins on board being shown a print
of the late Emperor Kien-loong, at the begin-
ning of Staunton's Embassy, immediately dis-
played the greatest embarrassment. They rose
from their seats, and scarcely knowing what
they should do, begged me to put it aside, or
it would be necessary for them to perform the
prostration before it. Such is the veneration
which the Chinese habitually attach to their
sovereign. He is, in fact, the chief deity of
their idolatry, and it would be the highest and
most criminal act of disrespect in the greatest
of his subjects to possess a portrait or visible
representation of the '' Son of Heaven."

Being military mandarins, our visitors seemed
much pleased with the brilliant and orderly
arrangement of the small-arms between decks,
and one of them said that he remembered the
like things in the former embassy. The dress
and appearance of these men were of a rather
shabby order, and they seemed to be sufficiently
ignorant of matters relating even to their own
country. On observing any costly or ingenious
objects of art, they immediately asked if it was

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CHINESE HOSPITALITY ON SHORE. 33

not made at Canton. Being shown a specimen
of English china, they seemed surprised and
ahnost incredulous; still more so when they
were assured that there were much finer spe-
cimens of the same production in England. On
leaving us, the mandarins went ashore with
Dr. Morrison and one of the oflElcers of the
guard ; the object of the two gentlemen's visit
to land being to make inquiries as to the em-
bassy's debarkation. We afterwards discovered
that the rank and station of these mandarin
gentry by no means warranted the attentions
with which they had been received and treated.
Dr. Morrison returned on the following day,
and said that he had an audience of the legate,
but could not speak much for the politeness of
his reception. Three other mandarins sat to
the Kinchae's left (the place of honour), while
Dr. Morrison and his companion were placed
to the right at some distance. The Chinese
commissioner was however civil enough in his
language. He made no arrangement as to the
embassy coming ashore, for they seemed as yet
hardly prepared for it ; but said that Chang and

c3

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34 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

Yin Tcjfin, who were sitting with him> would
visit the ambasBsdor on board. Some little ob^
jection seemed to exist as to the large number
constituting the embassy, and including a guard
and band of about forty men ; though this was
at length acquiesced in> when Dr. Morrison
urged the comparatiye insigni&ance of such a
point to the great emperor. After the audience
our gentlemen were conveyed to dinner, with
the inferior mandarins who had been on board,
and this might be r^arded as the consequence
of the undue reception which had been accorded
to the four very scrubby individuals sent off as
messengers to the frigate, and who subsequently
became mere attendants on the ambassador's and
commisdoners boats. The night's lodging was
in a temple (or what in Canton English is called
a joshouse) named ffae-shinrmiao, the " t^nple
of the sear^od." Here they found an old Bu-
r(q)ean print representing Jesus Christ, with a
Chinese inscription. The priest dM not seem
to understand very well what tibe engraving
was, but said that the Emperor Kang-hy (who
favoured the Christians) had given the print to

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RECEPTION OF GRANDEES. 35

the temple, and it was therefore considered as
consecrated. He asked, at tlie same time, if
there were votaries of Budha in England, and
if the inhabitants of our country were likely to
be converted by his going and teaching them!
Dr. Morrison and Lieutenant Cooke were con-
ducted from their boat, and back to it, in the
wretched carts of die country, of which we
shall have to say more presently. When the
gentlemen returned on board, some provisions
were offered, but tiiey declined waiting for
die same.

On the 2nd <rf August a strong breeze set
in, which increased to a gale on the 3rd, and
as the ancliorage did not afford very good hold-
ing ground, the ships were obliged to moor
with a great lengdi of cable. No boats came
off from tiie land, but the morning of the 4th,
being fine, we saw junks decorated with flags
and streamers on their way out towards the
squadron. Presently arrived the inferior of-
ficers, our form^ visitors, bearing enormous
cards of compliment, folded like a screen, and
when drawn out exhibiting some yards of paper
of a fine crimson colour. On occasions of

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36 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

mourning the crimson is exchanged for white,
and they accordingly consider our white visit-
ing cards as peculiarly unlucky ^ or ill-omen'd.

Preparations were made on board the frigate
to give the grandees a fitting reception. The
marines were under arms on the quarter-deck,
and lest the tender nerves of our Chinese vi-
sitors should be needlessly shaken, a salute was
fired before they came on board ; the usual form
being to fire after the parties have reached the
ship. They walked between the two ranks of
men with a look of involuntary surprise, which
was increased when the marines presented arms.
The mandarins were received by the captain in
the fore cabin, and then conducted in to the
ambassador and commissioners.

As it was well known that, according to the
invariable usage of the Chinese Court towards
foreign embassies, the subject of the prostra"
tioriy or ko-tow, would very soon be brought
forward by the commissioners deputed to receive
ois, and that the very circumstance of the last
embassy not having performed the Tartar cere-
mony would ensure an early discussion on this
point, the line of conduct to be adopted had

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THE TARTAR CEREMONY. 37

been, for some time, a matter of serious deli-
beration. But as the two officers who visited
us this day possessed a rank and authority
much inferior to those who would hereafter
conduct the negociation, it was considered un-
advisable to make any serious mention of the
subject to them. On their part, however, a
manifest anxiety existed to ascertain the actual
intentions of his Excellency on (to the Chinese
themselves) this most important point; and it
therefore became necessary to inform them that
the subject of ceremonies would remain for
arrangement with the functionaries appointed
to meet us at Tien-tsin. Our mandarins
acquainted us that the Emperor, with a view
to manifest especial favour towards the second
English embassy that had visited his court,
had commissioned a Choong^fhangy or Member
of the Imperial Cabinet, to receive and conduct
us to Peking.

On my presenting the Ambassador s son to
the two Tajins after the audience, they seemed
highly pleased with him. One of them had
brought on board his own boy, a young Tartar

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38 SiSlETCHES OF CHINA.

of eleven years of age, who, on being presented
to his Excellency, went down very gracefully
on one knee. The Chinese habitually incul*
cate a respectfnl demeanour on the part of
young people towards their elders, and honour
age as subordinate only to learning. The bene-
fits of such institutions are apparent in their
effects. In no country of the world does a
quiet, easy subordination so extensively prevail
as in China. The claims of age to respect are
so natural that they are accorded without dis-
pute; and the consequence of this as a haMt
is to repress the inexperience and headstrong
passion of youth. It appeared that the man-
darins had brought with them some provisions
for the squadron, but by no means in adequate
quantities for the numbers that were on board.
The circumstance of their being gratuitously
offered, as a part of the Emperor's bounty,
made it awkward and difficult to urge the
necessity of a larger supply; and it was there-
fore considered necessary to apply for permit*
sion to purchase the needfiil quantities on our
own account.

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VISIT TO THE SHORE. 39

On the 5th August the weather was suffi-
ciently cahu to admit of the junks ooming
alongside for the presents and baggage of the
embassy. The total contrariety of the Chinese
habits and our own made it requisite for the
general comfort that the stores, and other articles
for the use of the English party during several
months in a strange Asiatic country, should be
aumarous and bulky ; #nd as our journeys were
to be almost entirely by water, there was the
less need to be sparing upon this point The
Itttotiishment^ however, of the Chinese at the
immensity of our 'impedimenta" was undis-
guised. Their self-denying and frugal habits
make them strangers to any but the lightest
and easiest accommodation in every way. A
mat to spread out as a bed, and a hard, hollow
pillow of woven rattans, together with the
smallest possible box for garments, is all that
they generally want for themselves.

As it seemed advisable that some previous
steps should be taken to ascertain the number
and quality of the accommodation vessels pro^
vided for the mksion on its journey to Peking,
the Ambassador commissioned me to proceed

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40 SKETCHES OP CHINA.

on shore in one of the frigate's boats, accom-
panied by the officer of the guard, for the
purpose of making the requisite enquiries.
We left the ship at ten o'clock, with the
third lieutenant, arid though a strong tide
ran in our favour, did not reach the shore
under three hours. Instead of landing at the
mouth of the river, I preferred rowing up to
where the boats were lying, and was glad to
observe, as we approached, that a considerable
number were anchored a little below the tem-
ple. On reaching them we were received on
board one of the principal boats by several
mandarins, the chief of whom wore a light
blue button. A considerable body of soldiers
was ranged on the shore, so as to form three
sides of a square, of which the boats made the
fourth; and we were saluted on landing with
the invariable number of three guns. It was
well for us that the soldiers were there, for
without them we should have been over-
whelmed by the immense crowds congregated
to get a view of the strangers. One fellow
contrived to make his way through; but he
was instantly pursued, and after having re-

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J

ACCOMMODATION BARGES. 41

ceived a good beating most unceremoniously
kicked out.

Our mandarin entertainers were exceedingly
polite, and presented us with tea, sweetmeats,
and fruit. After some general conversation
I began my business with them, and asked
if the boats were quite ready to receive the
embassy, adding that his Lordship was de-
sirous of moving at once from the ships to
the boats, without any intermediate lodging
on shore. To this they replied in the affirma-
tive, and requested that we would look at the
three barges prepared for the Ambassador and
Commissioners. The appearance of these was
satisfactory, and we were informed that the
vessels for the rest of the party, though not
so large, were as neat and convenient. It
appeared that there were altogether ten ac-
commodation barges, and twelve boats for the
attendants, baggage, and presents. On my
mentioning the Ambassador s desire to have
one vessel so large as to enable our whole
party of nineteen to dine together, they said
that at present there was no boat large enough

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42 SKETCHB6 OF CHINA.

for the purpose, Wt that on our arrival at
Tienrtsin we should be provided with <me;
at the same time they observed that in the
interim the party might be divided into two,
an arrangement to which the present boats
were adapted.

On looking up> I observed that upcMi the
flags of the boats intended for our convey-
ance were inscribed the words Koong^she,
or "Tribute Emissaries.'* Not having been
authorised by his Excellency to discuss this
subject, I took no further notice at tihe time,
but resolved to inform him on my return to
the frigate. I then learned from the man-*
darins that a change had been made in the
person deputed to receive the Ambassa-
dor at Tienrtsin, and that instead of the
Minister before mentioned, it was to be Soo
Tajifiy formerly Ho{^ at Canton, and now
a member of the board of Public Works.
When we were going away A^ offered me
an audi^ice of the KincJuie; but I declined,
expressing my desire to return early with our
information to the Ambassador. On our de«

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PREPARATIONS TO LAND. 43

parture they loaded our boat with fruit, con-
sisting i£ pretty good apples and pears, and
some peaches of an immense size, but which
proved very hard and msipid. The tide being
against us, we did not reach the frigate in
less than four or five hours.

After a day of tempestuous weather, which
prevented all communication with the ships
or the shore, a mandarin messenger arrived
on the morning of the 8th, bringing a com-
plimentary card from the Legate, and a re-
quest to his Lordship to hasten his landing
with all convenient lipeed, as tl^ Emperor
was desirous to see him at Peking. In
reply, it was stated that the Ambassador was
equally desirous to pay his respects to his
Majesty; and that, if the baggage and presents
could be sent on shore in time, we should all
land on the following day. A general take-
leave dinner was given on board the frigate,
when those persons that were to remain with
the squadron bade adieu to their friends who
were about to commit themselves, for a period
of about six months, to Chinee hospitaUly.

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44 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

By ten o'clock on the morning of the 9th
August the junks were nearly laden with
the presents and stores belonging to the mis-
sion, and we made preparations for going on
shore in the boats of the squadron. The
royal standard was hoisted by the Commodore
at the main, the St. George's ensign at the
fore, and the East India Company's ensign at
the mizen; the yards of the five ships were
manned, and a salute of nineteen guns fired
from each. His Excellency's descent into his
barge was the signal for all the boats to leave
their respective ships, the whole number con-
sisting of ten. Some of us preferred proceed-
ing in the junks as far as the mouth of the
river, on account of the great length of the
pull ; but as soon as we had reached the point,
all hands repaired to their several stations, and
the boats formed in two lines, headed by the
barge bearing the royal standard. The em-
bassy never again made so respectable an ap-
pearance until the same boats met it on its
return, in the river near Canton, and conducted
it to the British factory.

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RECEPTION ON SHORE. 45

On the point of land which formed the
entrance of the Peiho to the left was a small
fort, mounting a few guns. In front of this
were drawn out a considerable body of soldiers,
dressed in a uniform of blue and red, with
colours flying and music playing, while a salute
of three guns was fired from the fort. The
boats had all the good fortune to cross the bar
at the river s mouth without getting aground,
though the oars frequently touched bottom.
While the oflicer of the guard proceeded for-
wards to announce the Ambassador s approach
to the Legate, the fleet of boats pulled up to
the place occupied by the Chinese barges.
We were soon aboard, and found that the
three principal boats (and another provided
as a dinner boat) were very commodious;
but the remainder appeared so small and ill
calculated for their intended purpose, that
some remonstrance became necessary ; in reply
to which it was offered as an excuse, that in
the hurry of providing conveyances for the
embassy no better could be procured.

Soon after our arrival the Legate visited his

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46 SRBTCHB8 OF CHINA.

Excelleney on board his own boat. It bad been
previously i^reed tbat this should be merely
a visit of eompliment, without any iatrodue<-
tion of bumness. The Chinese functionary
was very polite and agreeable, taking partieu'^
lar notice of the Ambassador's son, a youth
of fourteen. The Kinchae added that the
Emperor himself had asked many questions
concerning him, and had some presents for
him at Pddng. It was not difficult to per*
ceive that tiie ceremony wae die chief subject
of the Legate's care and thoughts, though he
did not directly menticm it, but confined
himself to the observation that he hoped
"bodi parties would be found to act agree-
ably with each other's wishes." The fact tioat
Lord Macartney did not perform the Kotow
evidently made the present rulers of China
very anxious to gain a victory on this point
over us. After the Legate had withdrawn a
considerable time elapsed, and the Ambaesadol*
then proceeded on board tiie Tajin's haargt
to return his visit, as we w«re to sail early
in the morning. A Chinese was heard to

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PERSONAl. RESTRAINT. 47

flay, in ibe cmurse of conyemtion^ tlmt we
were to be ecxmreyed to Peking witii all
haste in tlie space of five days. Judging by
the usual rate at which Chinese boots travel,
we were not very likely to effeet the journey
in this time, even admittiiBg that all other
arrangements proceeded i^fioothly. The dk^
tance from the sea, following the windings of
the riy^, is about two hundred miles; but
with the proposed halt at Tienrtsin, we were
likely to be a very oonsidera]»ie time in work-
ing up against the stream.

In the course of the evening we perceived
a decided intention on the part of our Chmese
conductors to ke^ \m prisiCMiers to our boate,
if possible. One of the gentlemen was pro-
ceeding a few ed;^ from the front of his
boat, when he was civilly requested not to
go farth^ ; and shortly afWwar4s» when Gap-
tain HaU and myself, with anothw, w^re
waUwg along dae pathway leading to the
Budhist Teso^le, we were requested not to
go on^ itmlbr the pka that the mandarins
were lodged there. This was a state of tote^

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48 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

lage which seemed by no means calculated to
mcrease our acquaintance with the country;
and I quietly made up my mind that by
every legitimate means in my power I would
break through it. In the evening the greatest
confusion prevailed with regard to our bag-
gage and furniture; and the larger number
of us were obliged to pass the night in our
clothes, without bedding of any kind. Stretched
on the bare boards, which were none of the
cleanest, with nothing but our light clothing
about us, we had the most convincing evidence
of the great difference that prevails here be-
tween the temperature of day and night, — at
least fifteen or twenty degrees.

I was glad when daylight appeared, and the
bustle of unloading the junks into our barges
attracted me to the front of our boat. As this,
or some other vessel of the same kind, was
likely to be our dwelling for months, I took a
careful survey of it. The whole accommoda-
tion might be forty feet in length, by twelve
broad, divided into three compartments, of
which the first was an ante-room for servants.

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ACCroMMODATION BAR6BS. 49

the middle a sitting-room, and the portion
abaft divided into two or three sleeping places.
The roof was conveniently high, at least seven
or eight feet under the beams; the lofty over-
hanging stern serves as kitchen, and the crew
are lodged, or rather stowed away, in pigeon-
holes, in a very puzzling manner. Grangways
of stout boards along the outside of each vessel
enabled the crew to pole it over the shallows by
means of long and light bamboos, and also ad-
mitted of the servants passing from head to
stern without incommoding the inmates. Glass
being scarce in this part of China, the windows
consisted of transparent paper and gauze, on
which were very tasty devices of flowers, &c. ;
while the bulkheads, or wooden partitions of
the cabins, were carved in high relief and var-
nished. The decks of the cabins remove in
square compartments, and admit of baggage
being conveniently stowed away. But only
the three principal boats were of this superior
class.

I was fortunate in sharing the boat of one of
the commissioners, Mr. (now the Right Ho-

VOL. I. D

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50 SKETCHES OP CHINA.

norable) Henry Ellis, who had invited me to be
his fellow-traveller, and we were joined this day
by Lieutenant Somerset and Mr. Abbott, the
present Lord Colchester. The Chinese showed
so little disposition to consult our comfort and
convenience, and their usages were so generally
contrary to our own, that nothing but the
extreme novelty of our situation, in this pro-
hibited land, would have made it otherwise
than disagreeable.

During the process of unloading the junks,
on the morning of our getting under weigh for
Peking, a Chinese on board one of them was
either caught stealing, or suspected of stealing
something. He was immediately seized by the
tail, and in spite of his loud protestations
brought over to the head of our boat, to receive
the punishment of face-slappingy which is in-
flicted widi a flat piece of wood. Seeing them
throw him down as a preliminary to the casti-
gation, I immediately interfered, and desired
that our vessel might not be turned into an
execution-dock for criminals. The mandarin
excused himself by saying that the man had

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INFLICTION OF SUMMARY PUNISHMENT. 5 1

stolen our things, and was therefore punished
in our boats ; but I told him that if that were
a reason, the junk where the offence was com-
mitted was the properest place. They then
took him on shore, where he received his
punishment; and I had no doubt of the inter-
ference being well-timed, for the object of the
Chinese was evidently to lower us if they could.
The legate preceded us last night to Tien-tsin,
and our fleet of boats set off at ten a.m., passing
several small villages at a tardy pace, as we were
tracked against a strong ebb tide by the labour
of a string of men, wading through the mud
up to their knees. The track-rope consists of
three strips of split rattan interwoven, and
is admirably calculated by its lightness and
strength for the purpose, being fastened to the
top of the mast, with a smaller cord leading
off from the main one for each tracker. We
presently passed a low and marshy plain devoid
of inhabitants, and covered with a species of
rush. In these flat districts near the sea are
extensive salt-works, for the supply of the capi-
tal. The salt which they gave us was of a

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52 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

dirty brown colour, and in coarse grains, as it
came out of the salt-pans. It was indeed lucky
that we had brought a good supply of pro^
visions of all kinds, as those supplied to us by
the em^ror sghen-tien, or bounty, were to-
tally unworthy of the occasion. There is rea-
son to attribute this chiefly to peculation on
the part of the purveyors.

Neither of the mandarins, our conductors,
showed the least attention in visiting the am-
bassador at our occasional places of stoppage,
as we had been led to expect from the accoilnts
of the former mission. From whatever cause
it might arise, there seemed to exist a decided
ill-will towards us; and as the authorities at
Canton had good reason to apprehend that we
went as complainants against themselves, it
appeared probable that their influence at Pe-
king had prejudiced our cause there.

The near approach of the mission to Tien-
tsin was likely to bring the question of ceremo-
nials into immediate discussion, and there could
be no doubt of its being required of the ambas-
sador that he should make the nine prostrations

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TARTAR CEREMONY. 53

before the emperor s imagined presence. Among
experienced and weU-infonned people no two
opinions could exist on this subject; and the
most determined refusal seemed absolutely ne-
cessary, with the precedent of the last mission
before us. My own persuasion (founded on
the import which the ko-tow bears among the
"Chinese themselves) was, that even before the
emperor himself such an act of homage should
be considered as impossible from the represent-
ative of our sovereign. Similar reasons led
me to wish that the inscription Koong-shcy
^ tribute-bearer," had not been allowed to be
suspended from the mast of the ambassador's
yacht, in conformity with the precedent of the
last embassy. The Chinese histories observe of
the conduct of an emperor of the Soong dy-
nasty, who concluded a peace with the Tartars
on humiliating terms, that " he shamefully
made use, in the treaty, of the word koong
(tribute)." We might perhaps have required
that our own flag should supply the place of
the other, without making the propriety of
the inscription a point of debate. There would

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54 SKETCHES OF CJIINA.

have been an appearance of reason in this pro-
position, for our own flag was as good a mark
for the boat as theirs, if not a better. More-
over, if we were not to knock head at last, it
seemed more consistent with such a line of
conduct, because " tribute bearera** have hardly
any pretensions to such scruples*

It seemed, however, that the ambassador had
received it in his instructions from our governr
ment, to consider the matter entirely as a ques-
tion of expediency, with full authority to com-
ply, should compliance be calculated to attain
the substantial objects of the mission. I felt
persuaded that, instead of gaining any points
by such a measure, we should only become con-
temptible in the eyes of the Chinese, and in
fact do ourselves more harm than good. Wit-
ness the Dutch embassy, whose whole amount
of profit consisted of a good deal of ridicule,
and some half-gnawed bones fipom the emperor's
table. As far as personal feelings were con-
cerned, the ambassador could not be othwwise
than averse from compliance ; but with autho-
rity, or at least permission, from home to yield

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TARTAR CEREMONY. 55

the point rather than make it the ground of a
rupture, it became necessary to proceed with
circumspection. At the same time, it could
never have been intended that he should com-
ply unconditionally, or without securing some
at least of those important points which were
reserved as the subjects of negotiation. Were
we to have an audience of the emperor, and do
homage at once without bringing any of these
subjects forward, nothing could be easier for
the Peking government than to send us oflF im-
mediately afterwards, saying that we had now
finished all that we came about. Reserved and
unfriendly, not to say rude, as the conduct of
our conductors had hitherto been, one felt in-
clined to anticipate the worst ; and there seemed
so little prospect of succeeding in anything, that
it became a question whether the point of cere-
mony might not be the best to break oflF upon,
since it would involve no article of ulterior
negotiation, but be a good mode of asserting
our independence, without making other mat-
ters worse than they were before.

It was curious to observe the difference be-

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56 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

tween the instructions received from the go-^
vernment and the recommendations emanating
from the Court of Directors. The former im-
plied that we went simply in search of what*
ever we could pick up, and that the performance
of the ceremony was to be regarded in no other
view than as it affected the question of profit or
loss. The Company said, " Have most regard
to the effect that the embassy is to produce at
Canton ; complain of the conduct of the local
authorities to our trade ; and make no conces-
sions, in, point of ceremony or reception, which
appear calculated to diminish the national rcr
spectability of the English at that place."
Now as the welfare of the Company's trade
was really the chief object of the embassy, it
was fair to conclude that the Company wag the
party most likely to give the best advice, dieir
reasonings being founded on their past know-
ledge and experience. Distant as Peking was
'from the seat of our trade, the effect of the
mission at Canton was of more consequence
than its mere nominal reception at court ; and
less was to be gained by a servile compliance

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^^mmmmmmmi^m

TARTAR CEREMONY. 57

with the demands of the imperial government
(which, as in the case of the Dutch, would only
aggravate our ill-treatment,) than by a manly
appeal to the justice of the emperor against the
insolence and extortions of his officers at Can-
ton, and by a decent maintenance of our
national independence. The Chinese are so
ignorant of foreign nations, and therefore so
illiberal, that their good opinion, and conse-
quent good offices, are not to be gained by un-
due concessions in essential points. These they
always regard as necessary acts of deference to
their immense superiority, and therefore no-
thing extraordinary ; while a contrary line of
conduct, tending to dispel their absurd illu-
sions, causes them to consider us on a footing
of greater equality. At the same time, none
but the most ignorant or wrong-headed would
ever, in the first instance, withhold from them
that conciliatory tone of demeanour and lan-
guage, a failing in which lowers us to a level
with the Chinese themselves.

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58

CHAPTER III.

ImmenBe crowds at Tien-tsin — appearance and arms of
military — word valour oddly placed— visits to and from
the Kinchae — precedence of tlie left and right — unfavour-
able symptoms — a recognition — procession to Imperial
entertainment — ^preliminary discussion — Chinese veracity
— ^bows substituted for ko-tow — feast and theatrical per-
formance—scene from a Chinese comedy quoted.

On approaching the suburbs of Tien-tsin, we
could perceive the great heaps of salt, like small
hills, at some distance, together with a vast
concourse of people prepared to stare at us.
This city, from its great trade in salt, from
being the entrepot for all the grain which is
brought northward for the consumption of
the capital, and from its constituting a sort
of trivium, or point of confluence for the
thre6 channels leading from Peking, from the
sea, and the grand canal, is one of the largest
in the empire. The crowd was really aston-
ishing, and presented the most numerous col-

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IMMENSE CROWDS AT TIEN-TSIN. 59

lection of human creatures we had ever seen
in one place. The piles of salt were covered
with them, and they lined each sloping bank
of the river as far as we could view, in the
long course of our passage through the town,
which occupied above an hour. Many well-
dressed persons were to be seen, but others,
chiefly boys, quite naked. The thermometer
in our boat stood at ST*" ; but still the people
on the banks remained generally without any
covering on their shaven heads, some of them
merely holding up a fan to keep off the sun.
Soldiers were arrayed along the shore in com-
panies of thirty men each, with long inter-
vals, and with flags or pendants between each
company. Some few had matchlocks, but the
greatest number nothing but swords, with bows
and arrows. . One or two companies, perhaps
the elitCy were muffled up in a yellow dress,
striped, to imitate a tigers hide; but it was
agreed that they looked very unlike either
soldiers or tigers. We occasionally saw spe-
cimens of the military who had the word
"yoowgr" — valour, inscribed on the breast.
This might be all very well, — ^but when the

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60 SKETCHES OF CHINA*

same individuals turned round and displayed
tihe identical word inscribed on their backs^
the position seemed particularly ui^suitable, —
unless, indeed, in the sense of Hiidibras.

On our boats arriving at the landing-place,
nearly opposite to the public hall, where Soo
Tajin and the Legate were waiting, a message
arrived to say, that they would visit the am-
bassador in his boat; but a desire was soon
after expressed that his Excellency should first
go to see them. To this it was replied that,
being the guest, his Lordship must expect to
receive the first visit, and he should be happy
to see them whenever it was most convenient.
The mandarins then sent a message, requesting
a visit from two other gentlemen of the suite
and myself. We accordingly went after din-
ner, and were received in state. From ouir
boats to the hall the road was spread with
mats. Upon our entrance, Soo Tajin and
the Legate rose up, and after a few words
the whole party sat down together. They
requested us to sit to the left, the place of
honour, — one of the numerous instances in
which their custom is the exact opposite of

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PRECEDENCE OF THE LEFT AND RIGHT. 61

ours. At different epochs of Chinese history,
the place of honour has been alternately the
left and the right hand ; but that the left was
the original rule may be inferred from their
language always expressing "left and right," in-
stead of, as we say, "right and left," During
the dynasty of Soong^ which preceded the
Mongol Tartars, the left was the chief place ;
but under Zenghis Khan and his successors
the right had the precedence. Then, again,
when the Chinese emperors were restored with
the race of Ming^ the old rule was re-esta-»
blished. In the case of our ambassador and
the two commissioners, his associates, the
Chinese distinguished them by the "middle,
or principal," the "left hand," and the "right
hand" envoys.

During our audience the Legate was the
most talkative and ready man of the two. His
associate, Soo Tajin, could not be otherwise
than very old,— since he was commissioner of
customs at Canton above twenty years previous
to this. They commenced in the usual strain,
diivelling on the high favour with which their
great Emperor viewed all persons coming

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62 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

from 80 vast a distance to pay their respects
to him. The mandarins then said, that as
we must he in a great hurry to get back to
our country, our stay at Peking should be
as short as possible. To this it was answered,
that having come so far, the repose of a month
at least seemed necessary; and the Ambassador
would not consider such a hurried dismissal
as the one proposed, to be quite consonant
with the hospitality which the representatives
of one great nation should expect at the hands
of another. It was, at the same time, re-
marked by us that forty days was the term
allotted for the residence of foreign embassies
at the capital. They hinted at our pursuing
our journey towards the court on the following
day; but this was declared to be physically
impossible, as the whole of our baggage re-
mained to be unshipped from the junks into
the boats. The legate observed that in the
last embassy the King's letter had been shown
in tills place ; but the fact was otherwise, —
for Jc'ho (Zhehol) was the place at which it
had Ijeen opened, considerably after the arrival
of the mission at Peking; and this we were

i

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UNFAVOURABLE SYMPTOMS. 63

obliged to state very clearly, on the testimony
of Lord Macartney's own journal.

They asked a great many questions con-
cerning the ambassador s son and the gen-
tlemen who composed his Excellency's suit
A technical objection was urged to the term
we had adopted to designate those who offi-
ciated as Chinese secretaries of the embassy,
on the ground of its being the title of the
Tartar secretaries at Peking. As they were
of course the best judges of their own lan-
guage, we readily agreed to use another term
that was suggested as more suitable. After
some further conversation we took our leave;
and on returning to our boats informed his
Lordship that the two Tajins were coming
to visit him forthwith.

They presently arrived, and were received by
the ambassador and commissioners with great
ceremony. Old Soo Tajin observed, he remem-
bered a youth in the former embassy, of the
same age as the son of Lord Amherst. This
was no other than Sir George Staunton him-
self, one of our commissioners, who imme-
diately came forward and made himself known

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64 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

to the old gentleman, who declared himself
surprised and happy to see him : though there
was every reason to suppose that the accounts
from Canton must have long since put him
in possession of this piece of information.
The subject of the King's letter was again
brought forward, but they could get nothing
more than a promise from his Excellency to
consider the matter and give them an answer
hereafter. It was arranged that the whole
embassy should attend at nine o'clock on the
following morning at an entertainment espe-
cially conferred by the Emperor. His Majesty
keeps very early hours, as we afterwards found
on our arrival at his court.

At nine o'clock, accordingly, sedan chairs
were assembled on shore for the ambassador,
commissioners, and suite; while immense
crowds lined the river, as well as the streets
through which we were to pass. We had
lately had ample proof that the Chinese are
naturally as curious as most other people, and
that the affected indifference and incuriosity
of their great men is the result of policy and
calculation. The body-guard were drawn up

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PROCESSION TO IMPERIAL ENTERTAINMENT. 65

in front of the boats by their officers, and
when all was prepared the procession advanced^
the guard and band leading the way, followed
by a number of chairs conveying his Excel-
lency and suite, each of them carried by four
bearers in dress caps. The streets through
which we passed to the hall of entertainment,
a distance of about a mile, were crowded to
excess, and yet the silence and respect of the
populace were so great that we could almost
have heard a pin drop. It was a sea of heads
in a perfect calm. I left the front of my chair
open for observation, and could hear the people
whispering (for they ventured not to speak
aloud) their temarks to each other.

When we came to the end of our journey
the whole party alighted, and going through
an outer court lined with Chinese soldiers,
chiefly bowmen, entered the great hall, where
the imagined presence of the Emperor resided-
This is just such adulation as the Romans
and their provincials paid to Augustus and
his successors, raising altars to them through-
out the empire, — " Prsesens divus habebitur !"
A very large concourse of mandarins of rank

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60 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

with their attendants filled the room, and
their richly embroidered dresses produced a
fine eflfect. At the upper end were arranged
the presents intended for us from the Em-
peror himself, consisting of rolls of silk;
while near the other extremity, where we
entered, was erected a stage for the per-
formance of certain theatrical pieces to ac-
company the feast.

On the ground, and in front of the altar and
yellow curtain, where the emperor's presence
was supposed to reside, they had laid small red
carpets in rows, and on our first entrance I at
once guessed what was the intention of these.
Some mandarins soon confirmed my suspicions,
by coming up and requesting me very politely
to inform the gentlemen, my companions, of
the places where they were to perform ''the
nine prostrations !" I said nothing, but looked
as if I did not understand them.

The ambassador and commissioners, in the
mean while, were engaged in a very interesting
conference with Soo Tajin and the legate
within. The latter introduced the subject of
the ceremony at once, affecting to take it for

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PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION. 67

granted that it must be performed. The am-
bassador expressed his readiness to evince his
respect for the emperor, by paying him the same
obeisance that he was accustomed to perform
to his own sovereign, and the same that liord
Macartney had performed, viz., kneeling on
one knee. To this the mandarins immediately
replied, by asserting roundly that the last am-
bassador had performed the prostrations. They
probably quoted the last edition of the imperial
annals, published by authority — "prioribus
auctior et eo mendador''

His lordship, however, informed them, very
civilly, that we could not possibly be under any
mistake on a point of such importance, con-
cerning which the most faithful records had
been preserved ; and when they perceived that
nothing was to be gained in an honest way,
they began to inquire respecting the ceremony
which he performed to his own sovereign, and
requested him to show them what it was. His
excdlency observed that it could only be prac-
tised before the emperor ; but a happy thought
struck the first commissioner, namely, that the
ambassador's son might perform it before his

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68 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

father by way of exemplification. This was
immediately done, and the mandarins seemed
highly pleased^ tallying as it did with the no-
tions of their own country respecting the de-
meanour of a son to his parents. They like-
wise seemed not dissatisfied with the proposed
ceremony as a mark of respect to their em-
peror; but still insisted on the necessity of
compliance with the Tartar prostration. His
lordship declared that, without now adverting
to what his respect for the emperor might in-
duce him to do in his majesty's presence, it was
quite impossible for him to kneel before the
curtain; but that he would bow before it, a
mark of respect which he was accustomed to
pay to the vacant throne of his own sovereign.
The legate was at first strongly opposed to this,
and began to talk about the loss which his
excellency would sustain in missing the favors
that the emperor intended for himself and for his
son, appealing to his feelings as a father, &c., &c.
This was all quite k la Chinoise — ^but the am-
bassador replied, that he must not forget his
duty, however great might be his desire to
please the emperor ; and that if they would not

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BOWS SUBSTITUTED FOR KO-TOW. 69

accept his proflFered marks of respect he must
decline the honor of the feast intended for
him. They appeared quite thunderstruck at
the idea of rejecting the great emperor s bounty :
but the tone of determination which it evinced
had the eflfect, at length, of inducing their ac-
quiescence.

When the whole party had taken their places
on the red carpets, already mentioned, the two
Chinese commissioners ^^fell down and wor-
shipped" in unison with the notes of a low and
plaintive kind of music. They went three times
down upon their hands and knees, and each
time struck the ground thrice with their fore-
heads ;* while our English party, standing up
in the mean while, made nine profound bows.
The feast that succeeded has been particularised
in another place.f The theatrical performance,
unfortunately for us, was of that heroical or

♦ The San-kwei^ kew-kow^ or ** Three kneelings and nine
bumpings," with which the Chinese worship their emperor,
are practised by the emperor in worshipping Heaven ; and
this is the " Three times thfee^^ to which they would sub-
ject the whole world.

t The Chinese, vol. i. p. 318.

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70 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

tragical cast which they always accompany with
a huhbub of noises proceeding from gongs,
drums, cymbals, and every thing else calculated
to deafen the ears. This department of their
theatre is infinitely less agreeable than the fami-
liar and comic portion, which was probably
deemed unsuitable to the dignity and import-
ance of the present occasion.

In his appendix to the French edition of
the Chinese, M. Bazin has introduced some
scenes from a comedy called the Miser, lately
translated by Professor Stanislas Julien, and
abounding in striking touches of character,
with the occasional mixture of the most extra-
vagant burlesque, not unlike portions of Mo-
liere s Avare. This Chinese Harpagon comes
on the stage, in the last act, attended by a lad
whom he had adopted as his heir. TThe old
miser is in the last extremity of self-created
wretchedness, and a prey to sickness and ill-
humour. " Alas," he exclaims, " how long the
days seem to one who suffers like me! It is
nearly twenty years since I adopted this young
harebrain. I expend nothing on myself — not

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SCENE FROM A CHINESE COMEDY. 71

a farthing— not half a farthmg — while he, the
fpol, knows nothing of the value of money. To
him money is a mere means of procuring food
and clothing! — ^beyond that he values it no more
than dirt. Could he tell all the pains which
torment me when I am obliged to lay out the
tenth part of a tael!

" Boy. Father, don't you want something
to eat ?

" Miser. No. My sickness is caused by a fit
of anger. I went lately to buy a roasted duck
in the market, at that shop which you know :
they were just roasting one, from which there
flowed the richest gravy ; under the pretence
of bargaining I took it in my hands and held
it until all my fingers were covered with gravy.
Coming home thus without buying the duck, I
sent for a dish of boiled rice ; with each spoon-
ful of rice I licked a finger; but about the
fourth spoonful I suddenly fell asleep on this
wooden bench, and during my sleep a dog came
and licked my last finger clean ; when I dis-
covered the theft on waking I fell into such
a rage that I became ill. Alas, my sickness is

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72 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

getting the better of me, I sliall soon be a dead
man ! Well, let me spend something for once.
Son, I should like to eat some bean grueL*

^' Boy. I will go and buy some for a few
farthings.

" Miser. For one farthing, it is quite enough !

" Boy. One farthing? I should not get a spoon-
ful for that ! Who will sell me so little ?"

[The boy pays ten copper coins for some, but
without being able to escape the vigilant eyes
of the miser, who loads him with reproaches.]

" Miser. I saw you take ten pieces and pay
them to the shopman ; was there ever such ex-
travagance !

" Boy. He owes me five of them in change ;
I shall be repaid another day.

** Miser. But^ before trusting him, you did not
require his name, and who are his neighbours
on the right and left.

** Boy. Why take such precautions for such a
trifle?

*' Miser. If he should decamp with my five

farthings, who will repay them to me? I

* Used by the Chinese when they fast.

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SCENE FROM A CHINESE COMEDY. 73

feel my end approaching. Tell me, son, in what
sort of coffin will you bury me ?

" Boy. If such a misfortune should overtake
me, I will buy the handsomest coffin of fir that
I can find.

" Miser. Don't do any thing so foolish, — fir
costs too much. When one is dead there is no
difference between fir and willow.* Is there
not an old stable-trough behind the house?
It will make an excellent coffin for me.

" Boy. But consider, it is too broad and too
short ; we shall never be able to get you into
it ; you are too long in the body.

" Miser. Well, if the trough is not long
enough, it is very easy to shorten my corpse ;
take a hatchet and cut me in two, put in one
half over the other, and the whole will enter
easily. But I have one word to say, don't use
my good hatchet for the purpose ; go and bor-
row one of a neighbour.

" Boy. But with our own in the house, why
borrow a neighbour's?

♦ This militates against the strongest feeling of the Chi-
nese, that of sepulture, concerning which they are so scru-
pulous that many of them have their coffins made during life.

VOL. I. E

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74 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

*' Miser. You don't know how hard my bones
are; if you turn the edge of my axe, it will cost
something to reset it.

" Boy. As you please ; but I must go to the
temple to burn incense on your account. Give
me some money.

" Miser. Son, it is useless ; burn no incense
for me.

" Boy. I made the vow long since ; I can no
longer delay performing it.

" Miser. Well, then, I will give you a far-
thing.

" Boy. It is too little.

" Miser. Two farthings.

" Boy. Too little.

" Miser. Well, then, three ; that's enough ; —
too much, too much, too much ! — Son, my last
hour is come ; when I am no more, remember
to go and demand the five farthings that are
due! IDies.J

The French editor adds, " Voilk ce qui s'ap-
pelle un caract^re soutenu jusqu'a la fin. Ce
trait vaut mieux encore que le dernier mot
d'Harpagon: — *Et nioi, voir ma chere cassette.*
— II est plus piquant, plus inattendu."

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75

CHAPTER IV.

Imperial liberality — distance of Peking from the sea — a
diflScult country — Chinese Mahometans — pork and beef
points of conscience — immense numbers of grain junks —
Imperial commissioners described — importance attached
to names — Emperor's caprice — a scene with the Chinese
commissioners — arms and accoutrements of soldiers; —
abrupt conduct of the legates — bye-play in diplomacy —
" a foolish officer*' — dangers of starvation — a Chinese hero
— arrival at Tungchow — fruitless negociations.

On our return from the imperial entertainment
the heat was so intense that most of the party
were glad to shun its influence by keeping quiet
on board the boats. We were not a little
amused by the specimen of celestial liberality
displayed in the presents conferred on us by the
emperor. These looked very well when ar-
ranged in order at the hall of reception, but on
being opened they proved to consist principally
of paper wrapped round with silk, instead of
silk wrapped round with paper ! His imperial
majesty here proved himself greatly inferior to
his delegate, the viceroy of Canton, who, in
exchanging presents with the president of the

e2

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% SKETCHES OF CHINA.

British factory, used to send really handsome
silks, of a description made exclusively for
officers of government, and not procurable in
the shops. In this display of liberality, how-
ever, it is most probable that the viceroy was
assisted by the unfortunate Hong merchants,
who on such occasions generally paid the bill
— " Sic vos non vobis, mellificatis apes."

In the evening we endeavoured to find some
means of crossing to the opposite or southern
bank of the river, for the purpose of walking,
and of getting a nearer view of some imperial
summer-houses and gardens, which had a very
inviting look from our place of anchorage.
There appeared, however, to be so much un-
willingness on the part of our Chinese con-
ductors to carry us over, that his lordship
thought it better not to hazard anything un-
pleasant at the conclusion of a day which had
passed off so well.

A great change subsequently took place in
our proceedings on similar occasions. Being
as yet novices on our way to Peking, and de-
sirous of remaining on good terms with the

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DISTANCE OF PEKING FROM THE SEA. 77

court, these restraints on our natural liberty
were submitted to, however unwillingly. When
after events placed us in some measure at issue
with the government, and it no longer seemed
necessary to keep terms with it, the vexatious
restraints now imposed upon us were soon
broken through by a little determination on
our part; and when the Chinese found from
experience that we were really a very harmless
and inoffensive species of wild beasts, they no
longer attempted to interfere with our excur-
sions, which carried us over all the country
adjoining our frequent halting-places, as well
as through some of their largest cities, as will
appear anon.

Towards night Chang and Yin Tajin came
in an easy and friendly manner, divested of
their fine dresses, as we were of ours, to con-
verse with the ambassador and commissioners.
It appeared that Tungchow, in the neighbour-
hood of Peking, the place to which our boats
were proceeding, was about fifty miles from
Tien-tsin by land, and thus the distance of the
capital from the sea is considerably above one
hundred miles. In our existing state of war

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78 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

with the celestial empire, this is a point which
may become one of some consequence. Owing
to the very meandering course of the river
through a flat country, the distance by water is
perhaps nearly twice as great as that by land,
and the channel could be blocked up. The
latter route, however, would be likely to prove
diflBcult, from, the numerous intersections of
streams and ditches, in a country where the
high roads are very little more than pathways*
It cannot be denied that after taking vengeance
in the south, where our cause of quarrel origin-
ated, it would be of high importance to produce
an impression at Peking itself; unless antici-
pated (as already seems to have been the case)
by some show of concession. Against Peking,
one of the main objects must be the transport
of artillery, the chief obstacle to which would
arise from the non-existence of broad and hard
roads.

We left Tien-tsin at daylight on the morning
of the 14th of August, and, as the progress of
the boats was extremely slow, one of the com-
missioners and myself succeeded in getting on
shore, and attempted a walk along the bank of

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CHINESE MAHOMETANS. 79

the river. Everything proceeded smoothly un-
til we had occasion to pass through a small
village. Here we were soon noticed, and the
strange sight presently brought together a nu-
merous and by no means clean rabble, whose
excessive and importunate curiosity proved so
noisome, that it fairly drove us on board again.
A Mahometan mosque was pointed out to us
l^ our conductors. The followers of the Pro-
phet were numerous in China during the Mon-
gol dynasty founded by Koblai Khan, as those
of Budha have been under the Manchows, and
of course more numerous in the north than in
the south. They exist, however, even as far
south as Canton at the present day. One cir-
cumstance alone is calculated to prevent the
spread of Mahometanism among the poorer Chi-
nese — ^the prohibition against pork. As in
Ireland, and all poor agricultural countries,
the pig becomes an indispensable item in
domestic economy ; and it would be barbarous
to rob them of it. The Chinese Mahometans
not unfrequently exercise the vocation of mutton
and beef butchers, the latter of which is abhor-

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80 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

rent to the Budhists, from their prejudice
against slaying the ox tribe. So the matter
remains at issue between beef and pork — be-
tween Budha and Mahomet ; and who shall de-
cide when doctors disagree? The Chinese
Mahometans are always distinguished by a
pointed cap.

The country above Tien-tsin was not essen-
tially different in appearance from that which
we had passed lower down the river. It was
well cultivated, and the chief produce seemed to
be the kaou'leang, or " tall millet" (holcus
sorghum), in the vicinity of the banks. But the
most interesting objects of all were the vast
numbers of grain junks ranged in order along
the side of the river, and commencing just above
Tien-tsin, at a village or town called Petsang,
or the " Northern Granary." For a whole (Jay
we sailed rapidly past an unbroken string pf
these, moored in exact order, with their heads
to the bank ; the stem of each junk rested upon
the side of the one next to it down the stream,
a position which they necessarily assumed from
their close contiguity. Their average burthea

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IMMENSE NUMBERS OF GRAIN JUNKS. 81

is about two thousand peculs, or above a hun-
dred tons; but being flat-bottomed, and very
high out of the water, they had the appearance
of a much greater capacity. The total number
annually unladen is above ten thousand: they
chiefly sail up from the southern provinces
during the fourth moon, or about June, when
the monsoon is favourable, and return empty
in the ninth moon, or about November. The
great object of an invading army would be to
arrest the progress of these on their voyage to
the north, or to get possession of them, either
for capture or destruction, on their arrival at
Tien-tsin. Were a foreign force to enter the
Peiho from the sea, the grain-junks would be
either intrenched above Tien-tsin (between that
and the capital), or withdrawn into the grand
canal. It is probable that of the whole season
between June and November, the period at
which we saw them (August and September)
was that in which they are collected in the
largest numbers. Each vessel had a badge or
painting on the stern, which indicated its being
public or imperial property. There is a super-

e3

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82 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

intendent, as well as a set of regulations, for
their express government; and care is taken to
prevent the large numbers on board (for they
form the abodes of whole families) from abusing
the privileges of imperial vessels.

We contrived in the evening to go on shore,
and had a pretty good walk along the banks ;
but the extreme fearfulness of the mandarins,
who had charge of our boats, lest we should
involve them by getting into some trouble, ren-
dered our excursion both short and unpleasant.
It required some philosophy to bear these re*
peated checks and restraints upon our natural
curiosity, and indeed upon that degree of bodily
exercise which was essential to health ; but we
learned afterwards to pay little attention to
their pretexts for urging our remaining in the
barges. The ambassador and each of the two
commissioners had an inferior military manda-
rin attached as an attendant on his boat. One
of these appeared in the evening, and announced
that the two imperial legates were coming to
pay separate visits to the three members of the
mission,^ on board their respective boats.

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IMPERIAL (COMMISSIONERS. 83

Soo Tajin was a fine old man of above eighty
years of age, with a pleasing countenance, and
affiible and polished manners. He was by no
means so alert and talkative as his colleague,
Kwong (though his superior in rank), which
we of course attributed to his advanced age.
In the diplomatic science, however, of " telling
lies for the good of his country," he proved
himself a perfect adept, insisting on a per-
sonal recollection of the prostration having
been performed by Lord Macartney before the
emperor! Kwong Tajin was considerably
younger than the other, and extremely thin and
emaciated in person. His penetrating eye was
constantly on the look out to observe any
changes in the countenances of those he con-
versed with; but, though a physiognomist as
regarded others, he did not govern his own
looks very well, occasionally betraying a degree
of anxiety and nervousness which might be the
result of his physical condition — for he bore
some of the signs of an opium smoker. Upon
the whole, however, he was a good specimen of
the ability of a Chinese mandarin, and his be-

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84 SKETCHES OF CHINA-

haviour towards us during the five months of
our journey was marked by as much liberality
and courtesy as he dared, under the circum-
stances, to display.

In their visit to the ambassador's boat they
talked a little on business, but their conversa-
tion with the third commissioner, for whom I
volunteered to be the medium of communica-
tion, was chiefly complimentary and of a gene-
ral nature. At their particular request Lord
Amherst had allowed them to see the golden
box which contained the Prince Regent's pio-
ture. Though this was a magnificent thing of
its kind, and valued at fifteen hundred pounds,
they expressed little or no admiration at the
sight of it. Infinitely greater was the venera-
tion with which they regarded a little yellow
silk purse, which had been given by the late
emperor, Kien-long, to the second commissioner,
and which he produced to them on this occasion*

In their half ofiGicial, half friendly visit of
to-day, the mandarins exhibited the strange
Chinese custom of inquiring names and ages,
which would be regarded as the very reverse of

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IMPORTANCE ATTACHED TO NAMES. 85

politeness in most other countries. Names,
however, are matters of much ceremony with
them, and every man has half-a-dozen names
conferred on him at different periods from his
birth. The first is the " milk name," given as
soon as an infant is a month old, when it is
produced by the mother to a party of assembled
friends, on which occasion the father pronounces
its name before the company, and some prayers
or sacrifices are offered at the same time. The
" book name" is given by the seenseng or master,
when a boy first enters school, and is the esta-
blishment of the pedagogue's dominion over his
pupil. He kneels before a paper inscribed with
the name of one of the sages of the Confucian
sect, and prays for his favourable influence on
the boy, whose new name he at the same time
pronounces. The master is then seated, while
his new scholar pays his homage by performing
the prostration. When a young man is mar-
ried, his father bestows on him another name, on
which occasion an entertainment is given, and
the ancestors of the family worshipped. Upon
the marriage of his first son, every man adds

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86 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

two characters or syllables to his own name :
while at the same time, the family name, or
surname, remains always the same. " I beg to
inquire your lofty surname, and great name?*
is the ceremonious form of words in common
use.

15th July. — In the afternoon the two impe-
rial legates went on board the ambassador's boat.
It was with no small surprise we heard that
his majesty had objected to the band of musi-
cians accompanying the embassy, and the mar-
ginal note was written with the vermilion pencil^
that is in red, with his own hand. In return
to this very ungracious announcement, it was
urged that the objection should have been earlier
made, before we had quitted the neighbourhood
of the ships; that to separate some dozen erf
the attendants from the embassy at this late
period, when we had advanced so near the
capital, would be extremely inconvenient, if
not impossible. The two mandarins retired
without any decision having been made; but
they seemed to be aware of the diflBiculties
of the case, and only argued the point on

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SCENE WITH THE CHINESE COMMISSIONERS. 87

the ground of the emperor's express pleasure,
and the embarrassing nature of their own po-
sition.

On this second day we proceeded, as the day
before, along an interminable line of the grain-
junks, whose immense numbers were calculated
to convey a deep impression of the magnitude
of this empire and of its edible resources. At
seven o'clock in the evening a second conference
took place on board the ambassador s boat. The
two legates came in agitated and out of humour,
and said that they had just now, for the first
time, heard of the departure of our ships from
the yellow sea ; that on the nineteenth of the
moon provisions had been ordered to the squad-
ron, but that when the boats proceeded to the
anchorage the ships were not to be seen. The
mandarins expressed the utmost astonishment
and concern at this event, and asked why the
ambassador had not apprised them of it? His
lordship very naturally relied, that the ships
in the last embassy had sailed on the second day
after the disembarkation, and that he had
deemed it quite superfluous to speak to them

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88 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

on a subject so obvious as the necessity for the
ships leaving an exposed and dangerous anchor-
age, where they were within a few feet of being
aground at low water. He added, that they
had never asked him any question, on their part,
touching the subject. They, however, insisted
upon it that they had, and Kwong Tajin, losing
his temper, turned to Dr. Morrison, who was
interpreter, and accused him of having misre-
presented his words. The latter very properly
replied, that if such were the case he had rather
not interpret any more; while his excellency
at the same time requested another gentleman
to declare to the legates that he considered
such behaviour on their parts very indecorous,
and personally offensive to himself. They be-
gan on this to recover themselves, and apologised
to Dr. Morrison. As they urged with great
apparent earnestness that the emperor would
attach blame to them on this occasion, and that
they were seriously alarmed for themselves, it
was readily agreed that they should be fur-
nished with a written document from the am-
bassador in their own exculpation. In this

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ARMS AND ACCOUTREMENTS OF SOLDIERS. 89

manner the conference ended much more agree-
ably than it had begun.

We anchored for the night close to the shore,
and I was attracted by the appearance of several
small tents to land, and examine them. Each
contained two or three soldiers, dressed in the
usual colours, blue bound with red. On de-
siring to look at their swords, they pulled them
with some difficulty out of the sheaths, and
displayed blades that were no better than hoop
iron, covered with rust. The men were no-
thing superior to the general run of mandarin
followers in strength, stature, or bearing ; but
were lying about on the ground in a very
slovenly state ; and it was a general opinion
among us that our little guard of picked men,
from the marines of the frigate, could have
marched through Tien-tsin with great ease, and
in spite of the opposition it might have met
with from all the troops we saw there.

Their soldiers were generally drawn up in
one line along the bank, with great intervals, so
as to make the most of them. The dress was
a long petticoat, and over that a ma-kwa^ or

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90 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

large-sleeved jacket, descending below the mid-
dle. This and the thick-soled shoe or boot
gave them a very inactive and unmilitary ap-
pearance. It may be supposed that a large
portion of their parade dress is left behind in
actual service. The bow and arrow is the
weapon on which they appear to set the most
value; the bow is remarkably neat in construc-
tion, and in shape similar to those of India.
Each soldier has about a dozen arrows in a
quiver behind him. The matchlocks which we
saw were truly wretched, and appeared iiusted
through, so as not to be fired without danger.
The butt terminates nearly in a point, and is
not held to the shoulder in firing, but close to
the side ; they possess nothing like bayonets.

They have various spears; one with a kind of
knife-blade, and another with a point and a
sharp hook at the side. The Chinese worship
their standards, and ofier sacrifices to them, as
the old Romans did. The falling down of a
standard is ominous of defeat. It seems that on
unlucky days, as denoted by the kalendar, they
had rather not go forth to battle. The fact is

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ABRUPT CONDUCT OF THE LEGATES. 91

not generally known, that Chinese were drilled
and paid as soldiers in the British service during
Sir William Draper s occupation of Manilla,
but never tried in any engagement. Their sober
and orderly habits, and general physical supe-
riority to other Asiatics, are qualities which
in the course of time might fit them well for
military purposes ; but there is every reason to
believe that the actual Chinese soldiers, some
of whom we have already encountered in our
war with the country, are of a very poor and
inefficient description.

16th August. — We were aroused at half-
past five in the morning with the intelligence
that the legates were coming to pay separate
visits to the ambassador and commissioners.
These would be thought very strange hours in
Downing-street. As it turned out, they went
only on board his excellency's boat. First
came Chang and Yin Tajin, and then Soo and
Kwong. A very long and earnest conference
took place respecting the performance of the
ceremony. The Chinese began abruptly by
proposing the alternative of Yes or No; but

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92 SKETCHES OF CHINA^

the tables were altogether turned on them by
Lord Amherst declaring, that it was his fixed
determination to go back rather than submi|;
unconditionally to a ceremonial which had not
been undergone by Lord Macartney. It would
seem that an answer had arrived yesterday from
Peking to the report sent up of the transactions
at Tien-tsin ; and that the emperor, far from
being satisfied with our performances there,
expected full compliance at court.

The ambassador, in order to show his dispo-
sition to meet the Chinese half-way, proposed
two conditions, on either of which he was not
unwilling to perform the Tartar ceremony.
First, the proposal made by Lord Macartney,
that a Chinese of equal rank with himself should
perform the prostration before the portrait of
the king of England ; or, secondly, that a writ-
ten assurance should be given on the part of
the emperor, declaring, that in the case of an
ambassador proceeding on his part to Great
Britain, he would be bound to pay a corre-
sponding mark of respect to our sovereign. Of
course, the only intention of either was to re-

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BYE-PLAY IN DIPLOMACY. 93

move from the act of prostration all idea of
unequal homage. Nothing could be settled in
this conference to the satisfaction of either
party; and it soon appeared that we were to
drop a little way down the river to a better
place of anchorage, and there wait for an an-
swer from Peking; all further negotiation being
apparently at an end until that ultimatum ar-
rived.

17th August. — Chang and Yin came to his
lordship's boats. It is observable that these
mandarins always go in couples, as spies upon
each other. Such is the invariable practice of
this jealous government, in order to prevent " a
traitorous intercourse with foreigners." No
further communication had been received from
Peking; but the negotiation seemed again to
be opened, and the boats were to get under
weigh for Tungchow. It was very probable
that, determined not to dispense with the pros-
tration, the mandarins were instructed to con-
duct us to that place, in order that the last
attempt might be made to induce our compli-
ance before we were finally dismissed. It

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94 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

might, however, be the case, that the emperor
was disposed to yield, and merely delayed his
assent for the sake of avoiding too sudden a
concession. Under the latter supposition, we
were on the high road to Peking ; but, under
the former, not very likely to get there, for the
ambassador having once determined on his line
of conduct, could not very well depart from it.
We seemed to be proceeding (and I was happy
to observe it) on the principles already laid
down at page 46. Their conduct towards us
hitherto left no reason to doubt that we should
gain nothing more with compliance than we
could gain without it ; and by holding out on
the present point we asserted our independence
at least. This in reference to such a people
as the Chinese was something gained; and as
regarded other points, which had not yet been
brought forward, matters remained just as they
were, and there was certainly nothing lost. We
had dropped a little way down the stream,
and anchored close to the shore at a place
called Tsaetsun, or the " Herb village." At a
short distance from our boats were a few huts

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BYE-PLAY IN DIPLOMACY. 95

or cottages, and the country consisted of fields
cultivated with grain, chiefly the tall millet.

The following incident is characteristic of
Chinese modes of negotiation, and of the per-
tinacity with which they put every means into
play to effect their ends if possible. There
could remain no doubt as to the late retrograde
movement of our boats having been adopted as
a trial of the ambassador s firmness. Soon after
we anchored, the Canton mandarin, who had
visited the ships, came to me in the second
commissioner s boat, saying that he was sent
by the legates to speak on the subject of the
existing discussions. I expressed my surprise at
his applying to me, and asked why he did not
go to the proper authorities. I added, that withf
out the ambassador's knowledge and sanction,
I must decline conversing with him on a matter
of such consequence ; and at the same time dis-
owned all knowledge of his lordship's plans,
further than his generally understood declara-
tion that the Tartar prostration could not be
performed by the British Embassy. He then
began to observe what a pity it would be if we

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96 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

went back without seeing the great emperor, and
how incensed our king would be when he be-
came acquainted with our proceedings. He asked
me to tell him what ceremony we performed
in the presence of our sovereign ; to which I
replied that it was certainly not the ko-tow,
and that further than that I wished to say
nothing on the subject. He still continued to
expatiate on the impropriety of refusing com-
pliance, and to enlarge on the great advan-
tages which the English derived from the
Canton trade, and the extreme benevolence of
the emperor in granting it to us. To this I
replied, that the Chinese nation was just as
much benefited as we could be, and that there
was not the slightest inequality of interests.
As my impatience at this unforeseen visit now
became somewhat manifest, my mandarin left
me, having, I believe, succeeded in getting as
little as possible from me; but, at the same
time, betrayed very evidently the object of
their ruse in turning our boats down the
stream.

In the evening we went on shore at the

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CHANGE OF MANDARINS. 97

place of anchorage, and had a pleasant walk,
though we did not stray far from the boats.
To the north we could observe some blue moun-
tains, which could only be those of Tartary.
The climate began to improve in regard to
temperature, for the thermometer in the morn-
ings did not exceed seventy degrees, though
in the afternoon it rose to above eighty. In a
hot climate it is always a great mitigation
when the nights are cool enough to enjoy
repose.

It seemed that two mandarins of much
higher rank than our present conductors were
to meet us at Tung-^how^ which rather proved
that the behaviour of these had been con-
demned, and that they were in disgrace for
not managing us better. I was persuaded that
they were now anxious to hurry us to Tung-
chow, in order that the failure of the new
delegates (for they begin at last to understand
us) may serve to exculpate themselves. The
hurry with which we proceeded on our way,
after the boats' heads had been turned to Tung--
cAcw, proved that the short retrograde move-

VOL. I, F

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98 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

ment had been a mere feverish attempt to
work upon us, and that they now tried to
make up the lost time. Some of our party were
nearly left behind in the race. About eight
o'clock at night a hije and cry was raised that
the ambassador's son and Mr. Abel were miss-
ing, and that they must be still on shore.
After considerable bustle and suspense, how-
ever, they returned to their boats soon after
midnight. It appeared that they had gone on
board a large mandarin's boat, at the invitation
of those on board, and could not get up to
us until that late hour.

18th August. — Still hurrying on, a party of
us went on shore, and walked for an hour
and a half as fast as we could along the banks.
The ground was hard and dry, and though
followed by an immense crowd we found them
civil and inoffensive in their conduct; they
even procured plants for us when they per-
ceived that we hunted for them. For the first
time I saw some Chinese carts drawn by oxen,
which were really very respectable in appear-
ance, and would not have disgraced an European

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A FOOLISH OFFICER. 99

country. In the afternoon a second attempt
was made to walk on the banks, but it proved
so muddy and slippery from rain that the party
soon returned. The military mandarin at-
tached to our boat almost went down on his
knees to dissuade us from going on shore. This
mandarin of ours was a most original-look-
ing person. We had lately been excessively
amused by seeing him stripped completely to
the waist (on account of the heat) and playing
at the game of forfeits with the fingers, called
Tsooey-mooey in China, and morra in Italy,
where I have often witnessed it. The loser is
obliged to drink a cup of wine ; and when our
friend had taken several cups, the silly glee
that irradiated his vacant countenance was lu-
dicrous in the extreme ; the effect being much
increased by the evident fact of his attributing
our involuntary laughter to the poignancy of
his own wit and humour.

This man was a proof of the immense dis-
tance that exists between the intellectual
qualities, as well as the rank and estimation,
of the civil and military mandarins. He wore

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100 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

a button or ball on his cap, equal in grade
to that of the lower order of magistrates;
but one of these would have been eternally
disgraced by such company and such amuse-
ments as this animal (for he was nothing better)
was addicted to. Physical strength and bold-
ness, as well as some skill in military weapons,
are the only qualities required from a military
mandarin.

19th August. — ^The Chinese might or might
not have the intention of starving us into
compliance with their terms; but the fact
was certain that the dearth of provisions had
lately reached a serious length. The Am-
bassador deputed myself and afiother to visit
Chang Tajin on board his boat, and com-
plain of the deficiency, desiring that we might
be allowed to purchase an adequate supply.
On reaching his barge we found that Chang
was taking his afternoon siesta, and were there-
fore unwiUing to disturb him ; more especially
as they informed us that the Taou-tae of the
district was the proper person to apply to.
This mandarin's boat was not far distant.

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DANGERS Cffi'S'TARvk^ION.--/:''* -lOl

and we accordingly repaired on board. When
informed of the object of our visit, he
stated, as an excuse, that being between two
districts it was difficult to procure provisions
just now, but that he would make enquiries.
This appeared to be doing nothing, and we
therefore returned to Chang, whom we found
still asleep. As Dr. Morrison's boat was
alongside, we stepped into that, and waited
until Chang came in to us, when I gave him
Lord Amherst's message. The reason he stated
for the deficiency was our having been two
days longer than was intended on our journey
to Tung-chow ; but he promised to procure some
provisions for us immediately, and left us for
that purpose. On his departure a military man-
darin of enormous dimensions made his appear*
ance, decorated with the peacock's feather. He
asked a great many questions about the distance
of our country, our connexion with the Rus-
sians, the size of our territory, and our neigh-
bourhood in India to Thibet, where he had been.
In return to our questions concerning the pro-
bable amount of the population of Peking, he
could afford no correct information whatever.

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lOfc. i ' f ; • : skkxcB^ hit china.

This man had lately been promoted by the
Emperor for some services which his zeal and
activity, joined to his great personal strength,
had enabled him to perform, — the very low
state of the art of war in this country render-
ing a hero's thews and sinews as valuable to
him as his brains, or perhaps more so. Our
Chinese Ajax was a very brutal as well as
stupid fellow, and worthy to rank with his
prototype of the " seven-fold shield."

Chang Tajin, on his return, invited me on
board his boat, and began to lament that he
could procure no provisions for us just now.
It seemed that nothing could be done until
our arrival at Tung-chow, which was to take
place on the following day. I ascertained that
from Ta-koo, where we landed, to Tien-tsin,
by water, is about 220 ly., and from Tien-tsin
to Tung-chow about 380 ly., — ^in all 600, or
190 English miles.

20th August. — At about three o'clock in
the afternoon, the increasing numbers of junks
on the water, and of buildings on shore, gave
notice of our approach to Tung-chow; and
we soon came to an anchor as high up as the

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ARRIVAL AT TUNG-CHOW. 103

river, which is not navigable above this point,
would permit. At half-past five some soldiers
appeared drawn up on the left bank, and the
usual salutes were fired. This place seems
incalculably inferior to Tien-tsin, and the
crowds were by no means remarkable. Soon
after our arrival the ambassador and commis-
sioners proceeded to visit Soo and Kwong
Tajin; but this conference threw not the
least light on our affairs. The mandarins
made no mention of the two deputies, but
proposed that the ambassador should go on
shore for the sake of a few days' rest. Nei-
ther did they introduce the subject of the
ceremony, probably seeing no prospect of alter-
ing the /ietermination already made; but on
Lord Amherst repeating that the precedent
of Lord Macartney would be the rule of his
conduct on this point, and reiterating the two
conditions, on either of which he would per-
form the ceremony, Kwong answered, like a
true Chinese, that the fact of Lord Macartney
not having performed the ceremony was by
no means universally admitted. He urged.

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104 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

besides^ that the mere circumstance of such
high officers as Soo and himself being sent
to meet us, disproved the notion of our coun-
try being considered as a dependent state.
He once had the effrontery to hint that our
duty to our sovereign need be no impediment
to our performing the ceremony, because the
ambassador on his return might make what
report he pleased ; but his Lordship reminded
this scrupulous gentleman that even supposing
he could be capable of such an act of base-
ness, there were plenty of witnesses with him
who would tell the truth. It is impossible,
after this, to wonder at the necessity for send-
ing Chinese mandarins to negociate in pairs,
on the principle of '' setting a thief to watch
a thief."

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105

CHAPTER V.

An inroad of Tartars ~ Successfully repelled — ^The Emperor
has long ears — Visit to Tungchow — Haughty reception
— Reply to the same — Letter to Emperor returned —
Programme of intended audience at Peking — Unfavour-
able symptoms — Attack from an unexpected quarter —
Increased restraints — Passports demanded — Chinese be-
come civil — A conference proposed.

August 21. — In the morning the guard was
drawn out on the little bridge, or Ma-tow,
adjoining our boats, and the whole embassy
went on shore with some state and ceremony,
to view the place prepared for it. The Koong
kwdn stood about one hundred yards from
our boats, and appeared to be generally appro-
priated to the use of officers of government.
It was arranged that we should continue to
sleep in our boats, but dine on shore. At
about half past four we accordingly sat down
comfortably at a table in the open air, under
the projecting roof of the chief part of the
building, which was supported by wooden

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106 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

pillars, and hung with lamps. The Chinese
at first began to crowd in, and to be very
troublesome, but two sentries were soon
stationed to keep them out.

Chang Tqjin, and another whom we called
the Secretary, had come on our first landing
merely to announce that the two new com-
missioners were arrived, and that the first of
them was Ho Koong-yayj a Mandarin of the
highest order, and brother-in-law to the Em-
peror, but not holding any official situation
under the government; the second. Moo
Tqjin, president of the Board of ceremonies.
These commissioners, it was added, had only
just arrived, and we might not see them until
the next day. In the midst of dinner, how-
ever, it was announced that six imperial com-
missioners were coming — ^persons of such high
rank, that Chang, who delivered the message,
said that he could not sit in their presence! —
This sounded extremely formidable, and it
was right that we should be duly prepared for
such " celestial colloquy sublime."

His excellency accordingly adjourned to the

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AN INROAD OP TARTARS. 107

hall of audience with a portion of his suite,
and, on the arrival of our visitors in the court,
the second and third commissioners went some
steps forward to receive them. We all stood
aghast, however, when this half-dozen of
savages rushed past without so much as a look,
and proceeding to seize the six highest places,
seated themselves down at once. The am-
bassador, on the other hand, completely out-
manoeuvred them by taking the principal seat
at the other end of the room, while we ranged
ourselves on his left and right.

They began, after a pause, by asking in a
haughty tone who was the ambassador ? — ^and,
on being informed, declared that they were
come to speak about the ceremony, which
the envoy was expected to perform to-
morrow before the Emperor's shrine. — ^His
excellency replied, with at least equal haughti-
ness, that he had not the least intention to
confer with them on the subject, but should
postpone it until he saw the imperial com-
missioners. They at first pretended not to
understand, and added that the ceremonies

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108 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

of the Celestial Empire were of high impor-
tance. On his Lordship's answer being re-
iterated in a still louder tone, they bounced up
and strutted out of the room in a style quite

We kept our seats in the mean while, and
when the surprise of so grotesque a piece of
diplomacy had passed oflF, made ourselves merry
at the expense of these "lads of Mougden,"
as they were ever afterwards called, who had
evidently been sent for the express purpose
of trying to eflfect something by bullying.
Any compliance under present, circumstances
seemed impossible ; but there still remained
some chance of the Emperor accepting our
terms, and these fellows were perhaps sent
merely to gain time. On the other hand,
it might be the case, that determined to dis-
miss us if we did not comply, the imperial
commissioners were unwilling to receive the
ambassador's final refusal in person, and tried
the above experiment as a last resort.

Nothing but the greatest ignorance of the
character of Europeans could have led the

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PRIDE AND IGNORANCE* 109

Chinese to hazard such an attempt as the
one above detailed. Herein consists much of
their weakness in negociation; they are too
proud to learn any thing about us, while we
foreigners of course never lose an opportunity
of studying them in every relation of life, and
have availed ourselves to some purpose of the
opportunities, (scanty as these may have com-
paratively been,) which years of intercourse
afforded us. That "power" which consists
in "knowledge," therefore, preponderates on
our side. We know, above all, that the most
complete want of faith, the most unblushing
perfidy, is one part of the Chinese system in
their negociations with strangers; and unless
this be carefully kept in view during the
existing crisis, they may play us some sad
tricks.

Chang and Yin made their appearance in
the evening, for the purpose of begging that
the ambassador and two commissioners, at
least, would sleep in the allotted dwelling on
shore, as they had reported the same to the
Emperor, and would be accused of falsehood

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1 10 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

did his lordship pass the night on board; —
" for," said they, " the Emperor has very long
ears." We were of course too polite, and had
too sincere a respect for his Majesty, to dispute
the application of this asinine attribute. The
ambassador replied that he had never made
them any promise of sleeping at all on shore
at this place, and indeed could not possibly do
so that night, as none of his furniture was
out of the boats ; but agreed to accede to their
wishes so far as to sleep on shore the following
night. With this they were satisfied, and ex-
pressed their gratitude very strongly.

His lordship now took occasion to com-
plain of the unmannerly conduct of the " six
lads of Mougden." Chang and Yin, however,
laughed it oflF in the usual Chinese style, and
said they had not understood the respect due
to the ambassador. The matter was upon the
whole considered as too absurd to deserve
much being said about it, and the Mandarins
soon after walked with our party down to
the boats, whither we were proceeding to pass
the night.

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PROPOSED VISITS. Ill

August 22. — This morning Cliang and
Yin gave notice that the Duke (as we had
surnamed Ho Koong-yay) was coming, ac-
companied by another commissioner. After-
wards, however, they announced that it was
the wish of these persons that the ambassador
should proceed to the city to see them. When
it was demanded on our part if we should be
required to practise the^ ceremony, assurances
were given that nothing of the kiAd was in
contemplation, and that the audience was to
be of a merely private nature. The next in-
quiry was as to the mode of conveyance ; and
when they replied that horses and tilted carts
should be provided; but that so near to Peking
it was not allowable to go in chairs, his
lordship declared that he could not think of
going in anything except a chair. The com-
parative facility with which they yielded this
point, joined to the fact of chairs having been
subsequently used by the embassy even to the
precincts of the emperor's palace, proved the
eflfrontery of the objection. Five chairs were
obtained; while the remainder of the parly

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112 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

proceeded either on horseback, or in the
carriages of the country, — not precisely the same
as those manufactured in Long-acre.

It rained violently for some time before we
started, and when there appeared to be no
prospect of its abatement, we set out at one
o'clock, the guard and band being left behind,
on account of the wetness of the weather. The
first part of our course lay through a very bad
road leading to the city, the chair-bearers sink-
ing occasionally up to their knees in puddles,
and the sharp wheels of the little tilted carts
cutting deeper into the ruts, already deep
enough. Those who were in the latter vehi-
cles were so shaken that they all agreed they
should not soon forget it. After proceeding
about a mile and a half we reached the city
gates, and were much struck by the appear-
ance of the walls, in height about thirty feet,
and very well built of blue brick. They were,
however, old and evidently in decay; but would
still make a good defence against an enemy
armed, like the Chinese, with bows and arrows,
or matchlocks. We passed through two gate-

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VISIT TO TUNG-CHOW. 1 13

ways, the one lying behind the other, as the
wall was doubled in this place for the sake of
greater security. No guns were to be seen,
except three or four without carriages,* and
of a rude cast, lying near the gate.

The town is built upon a part of the im-
mense flat which extends from Peking east-
ward to the sea, the piles of salt at Tien-tsin
being really the highest hills we had met
with since our landing. The appearance of
the towns interior miserably disappointed
us, the streets being very narrow, paved
only here and there, and more rough and
muddy than the road. The shops were all
built open, as in most Asiatic towns, notwith-*
standing the rigour of the winter, which must
here be intense. I thought I could perceive,
en passant^ something very like a flayed cat
hanging by the heels ! After such specimens

* There is reason to think that the Chinese allow these
guns to lie ahout the gates, as the starving Romans threw
loaves of hread into the camp of the Grauls, — to make
people believe they are spare guns. We saw few or none
on the walls.

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114 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

of gastronomic taste, it really became a matter
of some consequence to exercise a vigilant and
cautious inspection over the provisions supplied
to the embassy on the part of his Chinese
majesty.

On our arrival at the place of audience, a
mean, dirty looking house, with the roof over-
grown by grass, his excellency found the
two imperial commissioners prepared to receive
him without chairs, and all parties remained
standing during the audience. This sufficiently
showed the disposition of the duke ; but as he
purchased the ambassador s standing at the
expense of his own^ it did not so much signify.
He began, in a very loud and disturbed voice,
by saying that the ceremonies of the celestial
empire were indispensable, and that what
Lord Macartney had done (even admitting
that the prostrations were dispensed with in
his case,) was to form no part of the question.
That, since some of us had read their books,
we must know that there is "but one sun in
the heavens, and but one emperor on earth ;"*

* He probably alluded to an incident in the history of

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HAUGHTY RECEPTION; AND REPLY. 115

that he was lord of Great Britain and of all
other countries ; and, in short, that if we did
not perform the prostration, we must be sent
back. He accompanied this last flourish with
a very magnificent wave of the arm, while
his lips quivered with rage.

The ambassador repeated, with the utmost
temper, all that he had before so often said
to Soo and Kwong Taj in, and concluded by
drawing from under his robe a letter which
he had prepared and addressed to the emperor,
full of expressions of respect for his majesty,
and of the satisfaction he should have in doing
any thing to please him, consistently with his
duty to his own sovereign. This took Duke
Ho completely by surprise : he merely remarked
that the letter was sealed, and asked if it was
the ambassador's signet. No objection was made
to forwarding it, and he became on a sudden
more civil in his manner, accompanying his

the Soong Dynasty. The Chinese emperor being taken
prisoner by the Tartars, with his principal minister, the
latter exclaimed, " Heaven cannot have two suns, nor earth
two emperors ;" and so saying killed himself in despair.

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116 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

excellency as far as the door on his return. The
letter was calculated to have a good eflfect on
the emperor s mind« if it ever reached him, and
might aflford him a pretext by its respectful
tenor for complying with our terms. And
even admitting that it did not prevail on his
majesty to receive us without the prostration,
it might insure to the embassy civil treatment
on its return, and allow us to part pretty good
friends. Our vicinity to the court insured the
reception of an early reply, if the letter was
forwarded ; and qt all events a speedy decision
of the event, whatever that might prove.

August 24. — A message was received early
in the morning that the letter, being super-
scribed merely, "from the English Ambas-
sador," without having his name appended, the
mandarins had not ventured to deliver it, as
all anonymous addresses to the sovereign were
prohibited! They had, moreover, taken the
liberty to open it, and a proposal was made
that a few immaterial alterations should
take place in the wording of the address,
and that, his excellency's name being added,

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PROGRAMME OF INTENDED AUDIENCE. 117

the letter should be forwarded unsealed. As
there appeared to be no objection to this pro-
position it was agreed to, and another copy
was prepared; the mandarins being at the
same time informed, that if they took it upon
themselves to keep back a document of such
importance, when formally delivered to them
for transmission, they made themselves respon-
sible for the failure of the mission, and all
consequences. Chang Tajin stated that he
expected soon to receive instructions to leave
us, in order to make enquiries after the ships ;
and this (which at the same time was probably
a mere ruse) apparently argued a disposition to
reject our terms.

The same mandarin brought the copy of a
paper, professing to exhibit in detail the man-
ner in which the embassy was to be received
by the emperor, should we consent to submit
to the prostration. This programme far sur-
passed all the anticipations that could have
been formed of the degrading nature of the
exhibition in the emperor's presence; and it
is surprising that they should have let us see

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118 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

it while the subject was under discussion, as
it was only calculated to increase the deter-
mination that had already been made not to
submit to their insulting treatment. Nothing
in the ceremony of Lord Macartney's recep-
tion had in any degree approached to the
humiliations that were detailed in this docu-
ment, from which the following are extracts : —

"When the officers around his majesty's
person have proclaimed the word Pien (whip !)
the band shall strike up the tune Che-ping
(a subjugating sway). It shall next be pro-
claimed, 'Advance and kneel!' The ambas-
sador and suite shall all advance and kneel.
The crier shall proclaim, 'Bow the head to
the ground and arise!' The ambassador and
suite shall then, looking towards the 'upper
end of the palace, perform the san kwei kew-
kow (ceremony of thrice kneeling, and nine
times bowing the head to the ground). This
being ended, the music shall stop. The princes
and royal personages, who are permitted to sit,
shall conduct the ambassador and suite to the

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PROGRAMME OF INTENDED AUDIENCE. 119

western side (the rights or least honorable
side), where they shall perform the ceremony
of kneeling and bowing to the ground once,
and then sit down.

"His majesty shall then have tea intro-
duced; the princes, the ambassador and suite
shall kneel and bow the head to the ground
once; after his majesty has drank tea they
shall return to their seats.

" The attending officer shall then confer on
all who sit in the palace nae-cha (milk tea),
for which all shall again perform the prostra-
tion once; after drinking the tea they shall
also perform it.

"The immediate attendants on his majesty
shall then proclaim the word Pien (whip !) and
the princes, ambassador and suite shall rise up ;
the same word shall next be thrice proclaimed
below the steps, and the band shall strike up
the tune Hien-pinff (subjugation manifested),
during which his majesty shall withdraw to
the inner apartment, and the music shall
stop.''

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120 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

Another document was produced, purport-
ing to be a copy of the record made by the
Ly-poOy or * Board of Rites/ of the perform-
ance of the Tartar prostration before the late
emperor, by Lord Macartney. The present
emperor was declared to state that he himself
witnessed its performance before his father
at the time ! As his majesty was determined
to be so "splendid^ mendax," there was no
help for it; but the difficulty and embarrass-
ment of contending against the ceremony were
thereby considerably increased.

I now began to feel a great degree of
indifference as to whether we advanced or
returned. In proceeding to the court, we
should certainly be hurried off as ungraciously,
at least, as all other foreign embassies ; while,
if we returned, it would be impossible for the
court of Peking to conceal the occasion of our
return, viz., our refusal to do homage as vassals
and dependents, — and this, as far as it wenl^
was a positive advantage. I laid little stress
on the apprehension of those who thought

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A MESSAGE. 121

that the consequent ill-will of the emperor
might have a prejudicial eflfect on our trade at
Canton. The trade would support itself by
its own merits, and by its importance to that
province ; and I was as much as ever convinced
that the mere complacent feeling of the court
of Peking was of less real importance to the
welfare of the trade, than the vindication of
our national independence in the eyes of the
Canton government, with which we are imme-
diately concerned. This view of the case,
however, was of course grounded on the pre-
supposition (or rather experience) of the utter
impossibility, by any means of submission what-
ever, of effecting good, or of establishing a
permanent channel of direct intercourse with
Peking.

A very improper message was brought in the
same forenoon by Chang from his superiors,
stating that private information had been ob-
tained through an E-KwaUy or ** barbarian
officer" of Macao, that a large portion of the
embassy consisted of persons who had been
engaged in trade; that the second commis-

G

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122 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

sioner had amassed an immense fortune, and
possessed a fine house and gardens at Macao ;
and that he had purchased his situation, to
which he had no proper title! There was no
difficulty in tracing this tissue of absurdities
and misrepresentations to the kind exertions of
the Portuguese at Macao, who for nearly two
hundred years have been the inflexible enemies
of British interests in China ; not by the open
use of power and authority (which they never
possessed), but by secrecy and falsehood, the
usual resources of the weak and timid.

At the same time it was deemed absolutely
necessary to stop anything of this kind at
the commencement. The message looked so
like a personal attack on the commissioner,
that any appearance of acquiescence, or of
backwardness in repelling it, might have em-
boldened the Chinese to more serious acts of
annoyance. Lord Amherst accordingly sent
word that whoever had been appointed by
the government of Great Britain to the diflFer-
ent situations in the embassy must be con-
sidered as the most proper and fit persons

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UNTOWARD CIRCUMSTANCES. 123

to fill them; and his excellency desired, at
the same time, that he might have no more
messages on that subject.

From the known unfriendliness of the
government, as well as from the evident cool-
ness of our first reception, it was to be inferred
that this species of underplot had been for
some time in operation, though not brought
forward until the present moment. The local
government of Canton had been alarmed by
the sudden appearance of the embassy on the
coast, in little more than a year after the
conclusion of some very serious discussions, in
which the firmness of the select committee
had foiled the attempts at encroachment and
oppressionjon the part of the viceroy. There
could be no doubt whatever that every exer-
tion had been made by that officer, through
his connexions at Peking, to frustrate the suc-
cess of the embassy ; and to this must be attri-
buted the fruitless results of the mission, fully
as much as to the difficulties of the ceremony.

Chang was informed that the letters for the
ships of his majesty's squadron would be pre-

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124 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

pared immediately to be forwarded to their
destination, and he was at the same time re-
quested to state to his superiors that, should
the emperor be determined not to receive the
ambassador, his excellency wished to spend no
more time at this place, but begged to be al-
lowed to depart as soon as possible. In the
evening the letters for the squadron were de-
livered to the Chinese. It was reported to us
that the emperor's letter to the British court
was in course of preparation; but this might
possibly have been a mere invention to shake
the resolution of the ambassador.

Some of our party went in the afternoon to
look out for horses to ride ; but soon discovered
that strict directions had been given to every
person in the neighbourhood not to lend us
any, under the pretence of their being liable
to punishment should any accident happen.
This disagreeable species of tutelage would have
been rendered much more unbearable had the
horses in question been really of a description
to be coveted ; but the miserable little ponies in
this part of the country were precisely like

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MAT BUILDINGS. 125

those at Canton, and therefore easily dispensed
with.

Riding being out of the question, we were
obliged to be contented with a walk, and ac-
cordingly proceeded to look at the mat houses
intended for the reception of the presents. Tliey
were about half a mile from our place of re-
sidence, and proved to be very spacious. The
facility and cheapness with which the Chinese
erect these immense mat warehouses is remark-
able. The admirable manner in which the use
of the bamboo combines lightness with strength
renders it a most valuable resource to this in-
genious and industrious people. Their tem-
porary theatres, their halls of reception on
public occasions, and their warehouses for
storing goods, are erected of these mats at
a few hours' notice, and serve equally well to
exclude the heat and the rain. They can be
built of almost any height or breadth required,
on account of the extreme lightness of the
materials. Not a nail is used in their con-
struction, nor even a cord ; but the thin strips
of the bamboo bind every part together in a

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126 SKETCHES OP CHINA.

perfect manner ; and, when the end of their erec-
tion has been answered, they are taken down
and carried away with equal ease and despatch.
I found great advantage in the constant
facilities which our situation afforded for con-
versing in the court, or mandarin, dialect.
The only persons at Canton who use or un-
derstand it are the mandarins themselves, and
a few other individuals of superior education ;
but here the commonest porter uses no other
language. It is remarkable that almost every
province (most of them as large as first-class
European kingdoms) has its own peculiar dialect.
Of these the most exclusive, and the farthest
removed from the mandarin standard, is the
pronunciation of Fokein, which remained
longer separated from the rest of the empire,
by maintaining its independence against the
Manchow Tartars after the other provinces
had submitted. One of the missionaries com-
menced a Dictionary of the Fokein dialect,
which hasjiever been completed; but enough
was printed to show its chief peculiarities, and
assist any learner in his efforts to acquire it.

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RflPORT FROM CANTON. 127

August 25. — It wa^ understood this morn-
ing that the presents for the emperor would
probably be received at all events, whatever
might be the result as to the reception or
rejection of the embassy. This appeared to
be i^ every respect a desirable arrangement,
as it would enable, us to part with the Chinese
court under some semblance of good will. The
presents, too, were so bulky and numerous, that
their transport to Canton must be attended
with vast trouble and expense.

In the course of to-day was received the
copy of a paper, purporting to be the report
of the Canton viceroy to the emperor, on the
subject of the second commissioner's appoint-
ment as coadjutor to the ambassador. The
reason stated for this was "his acquaintance
with the ceremonies" of the Chinese court.
Credit wag given to the British government
for their judicious and respectful conduct, and
it was remarked, at the same time, that the notice
forwarded by the second commissioner of his
departure from Canton to join the embassy
was circumspect and respectful. A remark oc-

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128 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

curred in the same document, that Sir George
was not the only foreigner who understood
Chinese, but that several others who had ac-
companied him (mentioning their names) were
also versed in the language. It was moreover
observed that some apprehension might be en-
tertained lest the second commissioner and his
associates should " combine with traitorous na-
tives" to do some political mischief, and that
care must be taken to prevent such wicked
combination. By way of putting their pre-
cepts into practice, it appeared that the mili-
tary commandant of the district had been or-
dered to double the "army of observation"
round our temporary dwelling.

There was something so annoying as well
as insulting in this mode of treatment, that a
determination was formed by his lordship and
the commissioners to put an end to the state
of suspense in which we had now passed a
number of days, by writing formally to Duke
Ho, and desiring to know whether it was the
emperor s pleasure that we should advance or
return.

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INTIMIDATION. 129

After allowing everything for the jealous
fears of the Tartar-Chinese government, it
seemed quite absurd that a few Englishmen,
sent on a complimentary embassy, should re-
quire all the surveillance to which we had been
subjected to prevent their revolutionising the
empire. The real explanation of the proceed-
ing was, the wish and the attempt to eflfect
that by intimidation which had failed by other
means. The dark hints, and the " sparsse voces
in vulgum ambiguse," concerning the second
commissioner, had even led some persons to
suppose that the government might go so far
as to make a personal attack upon him ; but the
prevailing caution of the Chinese generally (for
the late proceedings of Commissioner Lin at
Canton prove that it is not always the case)
leads them to avoid anything beyond threats
and demonstrations.

August 26. — Conformably with the resolu-
tion of the previous evening. Lord Amherst
requested me to prepare a note in Chinese
from himself to the chief imperial commis-
sioner, intimating that, as he had not communi-

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130 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

cated tlie Britisli ambassador's address to the
emperor, his lordship conceived that he had
no further business at Tungchow, and ac-
cordingly, to use the diplomatic phrase of Eu-
rope, " requested his passports." I proceeded
with Mr. Hayne, the private secretary, to ac-
quaint Chang Tajin that we were commis-
sioned by the ambassador to convey the note
formally to Duke Ho, and accordingly re-
quested him to inform the duke of our coming.
He replied, a la Chinoise, that he could not
do this without knowing the contents of the
packet ; but, when his lordship gave a peremp-
tory refusal to this improper request, he said
he would communicate our message, and let us
know before we set out.

On the arrival of his messenger we pro-
ceeded on horseback, according to previous sti-
pulation, attended by our English servants.
It may be observed that not above one or two
Chinese were at present to be found in the
personal service of the embassy. My own Chi-
nese had all been deterred by fear from quit-
ting the province of Canton, and I should have

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COMMUNICATION OPENED. 131

suffered some inconvenience had not Lord Am-
herst's kindness placed one of his own English
servants at my disposal. On reaching the
miaou» or temple, which formed the tempo-
rary residence of the mandarins, we were shown
into a small ante-room where some well-
dressed mandarins were seated. I intimated
our wish to see Chang Tajin, and on his en-
trance informed him that, being commissioned
merely to see the note safe to its destination,
it was not material that we should have an
audience of Duke Ho. The packet was ac-
cordingly handed in due form to one of the
mandarins there assembled, and an answer was
i*eturned, before we took our leave, that Ho
would communicate shortly with the ambas-
sador.

In the evening a civil message came from
him to say that he should be glad to see the
ambassador in a friendly way on the following
day, if his excellency would pay him a visit.
An answer was returned through Chang Tajin,
accepting the invitation ; and it was added that

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132 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

the ambassador would be attended by the two
commissioners, his son, and three other gen-
tlemen. There was a complete alteration in
the style of the duke's message, when compared
with his recent behaviour to us. He seemed
to have discovered that the bullying system
would not answer, and was perhaps disposed
to try what a contrary plan might eflfect.

This great change in the tone of Duke Ho
led, in fact, to the serious discussion of the
question, whether, in the event of a handsome
reception on the morrow, it might or might
not be allowable to make some relaxation in
terms, and even consent to the performance
of the ceremony itself, on its being guaranteed
by Ho Koongyay that some of those important
points of negotiation which formed the object
of the mission should be conceded to us at
Peking. His excellency and the third com-
missioner entertained views as to the affirma-
tive of this proposition — Sir George Staunton
continued to hold the opinion that our na-
tional dignity and independence would be best

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COMMUNICATION OPENED. 133

maintained by refusing to perform the Tartar
prostration, and that iio ill consequences to the
East India Company's interests at Canton need
be apprehended from such refusal.*

* Subsequent experience fiilly confirmed the correctness
of this.

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134

CHAPTER VI.

Altered conduct of Duke Ho — consequent deliberation and
its result — hurried proceedings of the Chinese — departure
for Peking — Chinese team in London harness — descrip-
tion of the journey — City of Peking — one-horse carts —
arrival at Yuenmingyuen — strange occurrences at the
palace — abrupt rejection of mission — night journey to
Tungchow — exchange of presents proposed by emperor
— ^historical account of an ambassador's fate.

August 27. — Chairs were in waiting by an
early hour, and at ten o'clock Chang and Yin
Tajin came to accompany us to the residence
of Duke Ho. The party consisted of seven,
being the ambassador and his son, the two
commissioners, Messrs. Hayne, Morrison, and
myself. The temple which formed the duke s
residence was not more than a quarter of a
mile from our koonghwduy and on reaching it
we passed through a number of open courts in
the usual Chinese style, until we arrived at
that where Ho and his three principal asso-
ciates were assembled, with a great number of

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RECEPTION. 135

other mandarins. The place of meeting was
almost in the open air, an arrangement which
very well suited the season of the year.

Chairs being placed for us, we took our
seats in a row on one side, while the four
Chinese commissioners sat in order on the
other. Chang and Yin stood behind the
chairs, and among those who attended in the
same respectful posture we were glad to see
our old friends, the " six lads of Mougden,"
who had only a few days before scarcely con-
descended to look at us ! This power of occa-
sionally adapting themselves to circumstances,
with the best grace in the world, is a distin-
guishing feature in the Chinese character, and
of great use to them in business. It would be
fortunate for both sides if the Chinese govern-
ment, aware at length of our being in earnest,
and having had somle taste of the capabilities
of our armed expedition, should display a si-
milar pliancy, and put a peaceful termination
to our existing difficulties. This however is
a result by no means to be relied on, if a really
satisfactory treaty is contemplated.

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136 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

The conversation with the mandarins began
by some general questions from Duke Ho, rela-
tive to the number of months that had been
spent on the voyage, &c., being willing, per-
haps, to remind us how far we had come — ^a
very common argument with them when they
wish to carry a point by persuasion. The
subject of the ceremony was then introduced,
and debated with great temper by Ho Koong-
yayy who now could hardly be identified with
the vociferous and insolent Tartar that only
five days ago had " vomited forth" his wrath
and pride against us within the town of Tung^
chow — " Quantum mutatus ab illo Hectore !"
Still he did not hesitate to repeat the superi-
ority of the Chinese emperor over every foreign
sovereign, and the consequent propriety of our
compliance.

In the intervals of the conversation, Duke
Ho paid particular attention to the ambassa-
dor s son, and calling him to his seat presented
him with purses, fans, and other trifles suited
to a boy of his age. . There was Chinese policy
in this, absurd as it may seem, and only proved

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CONFERENCE. 137

the low estimate which the Chinese generally
entertain of European intellects and feelings, to
suppose for a moment that they could be influ-
enced in such a way to swerve from any points
of policy or duty.

Ho Koongyay at length gave a hint that, in
the event of compliance, we should certainly
not be without an equivalent advantage in ne-
gotiation, and that he himself would stand our
friend with the emperor; and it was finally
determined to go back and for the last time to
deliberate if it were possible to perform the
Tartar ceremony on these terms. The Chinese
upon this became all that is most gracious ; we
were ushered to our chairs with an incum-
brance of ceremony; while the six lads of
Mougden accompanied us to even an outer
gate, profuse of bows, and smiling uncouthly.
I awaited with the utmost anxiety the result of
the impending deliberation.

Both the ambassador and third commissioner
declared their readiness to perform the cere-
mony on the terms proposed by Duke Ho, pro-
vided that their remaining colleague concurred

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138 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

in its expediency ; but they at the same time
called on him to deliver his own opinion defini-
tively, and stated that they were resolved to
abide by it, as the dictate of personal knowledge
and local experience. Being thus placed in a
somewhat difficult and delicate position, the
second commissioner thought it right to give
a final corroboration to his own sentiments by
referring (with the ambassador s consent) to
those among us who had passed some time with
him at Canton. He found us, I believe, unani-
mous in the main. For my own part, I merely
persisted in what I had often expressed to him
before, and the short answer which I gave
was grounded on such reasonings as have already
been stated.

It was at length decided that Duke Ho should
be informed for the last time that the pros-
tration could not be performed by us ; and the
ambassador wrote a civil but firm note, thank-
ing Ho for his polite reception in the morning,
but declaring that, after mature deliberation,
he had come to the conclusion of its being im-
possible to perform any other ceremony than

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HURRIED PROCEEDINGS. 139

the one already proposed, namely, three genu-
flexions on one knee and nine inclinations of
the head. When this note had been translated
and written out, it was duly signed and sealed
by his excellency, and the private secretary then
joined me in proceeding on horseback to the
duke's residence, where we handed it formally
to the mandarins.

It must be observed that, immediately after
our return from the morning audience, a very
large supply of provisions had been at once
brought to our residence, and an unusual bustle
made by the Chinese preparatory to unloading
the presents; while Chang at the same time
brought word that Duke Ho was coming forth-
with to visit the ambassador. The intention
of all this obviously was to take it for granted
that his lordship had accepted the duke's terms,
and that we were ready to proceed at once to
Peking and " knock head.'* The ambassador
requested me instantly to stop diis indecent
haste, and to tell Chang Tajin that, until his
final determination in writing had reached

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140 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

Duke Ho, he could not speak to him on busi-
ness, though he would gladly receive him on a
mere visit of ceremony.

A very short time after my return from the
duke's residence his approach was annoxmced.
This appeared strange, as he had barely had
time to read the note: however, in he came,
radiant with smiles, and proposed that we
should set off for Peking on the morrow ! The
ambassador asked him if he had received the
letter just sent; and, on his replying in the
affirmative, it was demanded if he had perfectly
understood the contents ? He replied that he
had understood them fully. The natural con-
clusion from all this was, that the performance
of the ceremony on our part was dispensed
with, but that Duke Ho could not bring him-
self to express so great a concession in direct
terms. The question, however, was pressed
upon him, and it was explicitly demanded
whether the ceremony proffered by us was
sufficient to satisfy the emperor. This was
answered by a nod of the head, an abundance

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PREPARATIONS FOR JOURNEY. 141

of smiles, and a declaration that the emperor
was extremely kwdrjLy or enlarged and indulgent
in his disposition towards us.

After this it was not easy to decline the pro-
posed journey. When the Koongyay had ended
his visit, Kwong remained for the purpose of
pressing our departure by daylight to-morrow ;
but this his excellency declared to be quite im-
possible, although he stated his willingness to
proceed as soon as we could in the course of the
day. That mandarin distinctly stated, in return
to the interrogatories of his lordship and the
commissioners, that the Tartar ceremony would
be dispensed with in our favour. During the
course of the same evening Chang and Yin
came and sat at tea with us in a friendly way,
making arrangements for the journey on the
following day.

August 28. — Great exertions were made in
the morning to leave Tungchow as early as
possible, after a delayed residence of eight days
from our first arrival. The baggage and pre-
sents were sent off first, and at about half-past
four in the afternoon our party set out, being

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142 SKETCHES OF GHINA.

determined not to leave the impedimenta be-
hind, as had been the case in coming up the
Peiho. As the two officers of the guard and
myself were to ride, I had requested the man-
darins overnight to let us be supplied with
tolerable horses; but when these were pro-
duced, they turned out to be in a state of utter
impossibility. I walked over to Kwong, and
remonstrated with him, upon which he affected
not to know that the animals were so bad.
Chang Tajin then kindly offered me his own
horse, saying that he should go in his chair ;
and I gladly accepted it, as, though bad enough,
this beast was greatly superior to the former
tender.

The Chinese breed of horses is confessedly
one of the very worst, and the same may be said
of all their domestic quadrupeds, excepting pigs
and asses. Being kept alive on the smallest
possible quantity of sustenance, they naturally
degenerate in size ; but the pig is the great save-
all, and as he lives upon refuse, he pays well
for his keep about the house or cottage ; while
the ass likewise thrives upon what would starve

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L0NIX>N CARRIAGE. 143

a horse or cow. I seldom or never saw any
donkyes in the south, but ifiear Peking we re-
marked that they were a particularly fine variety,
and perhaps might account for the goodness of
the mules, which are also a superior breed.

There was something diverting in the excla-
mation of despair with which the ambassador's
London coachman viewed the four Chinese
Bucephali that were presented to him for the
purpose of being harnessed to the carriage.
He had prepared everything with as much care
and pains as for a birthday at St. James's, — ^the
horses only were wanting ; and when they ap-
peared in the shape of four small rough ponies,
he naturally cried out — " Lord, sir, these cats
will never do !" " But they must do !" was the
reply, for nothing better existed in the whole em-
pire. The collars of the English harness hung
down like mandarin necklaces, and the whole of
the caparison sat like 'a loose gown. By dint
of " taking in" to an extent that had never
been foreseen or provided for, this unworthy
team were (no doubt very much to their own
surprise) attached to, the handsome barouche

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144 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

that was destined to roll on the granite road
between Tungchow and Peking. An English
carriage should never be sent to China without
the horses to draw it. In our progress towards
the great " northern capital" (the literal mean-
ing of Pe-king) we first of all proceeded to the
same gate of Tungchow that we had entered
on the occasion of the earliest conference with
Duke Ho. Leaving this now upon our right
without entering it, we skirted the high walls
of the town, which were lined with spectators,
and soon came to a broad road of hewn granite,
which was evidently very old, and in so ruined
a state that it might have been referred to the
days of Yaou and Shun, This road, or rather
causeway over the low flats, extended to the
gates of Peking, and though the ambassador s
carriage certainly did get on by dint of the
coachman's steadiness and skill, its strength
and springs were greatly tried by the formid-
able cavities which the wheels occasionally en-
countered, and which gave it the motion of a
sh\p in a heavy cross sea.

A stone bridge of three arches, at the dis-

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CITY OF PEKING. 145

tance of rather more than a mile from Tung-
chow, crossed the Peiho, or a river running
into it, in this place a very inconsiderable
isitream. From the centre of this bridge I re-
connoitered the country round. Behind us
was Tungchow, with its conspicuous pagoda,
or Budhist steeple, and encircled by its high
and embattled wall. On each side lay a flat
country, studded here and there with woody
clumps, inclosing the low dwelling-houses of
the Chinese, which are surrounded mostly by
walls, and consist of houses of all ranks, from
the mansion of the high official magnate, to
the country-box of the Peking cockney. Be*
fore us, to the north-west, lay the imperial
city, the residence of the absolute monarch of
a third of the human race. It is situated very
nearly under the fortieth parallel of north
latitude, in common with Naples and Madrid
in Europe, and Philadelphia in North America,
which last it resembles in climate.

Peking has been the fixed capital of China
ever since the reign of Yoonglo, of the Ming
race, by whom the Mongols were expelled.

VOL. I. H

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146 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

Although situated on the northern confines of
China Proper, it is centrical with reference to
the whole empire, including Tartary. The
tract in which it stands is sandy and barren,
but the grand canal is admirably adapted to
the purpose of feeding its vast population with
the produce of more fertile provinces and dis-
tricts. The most ancient portion of Peking is
that area to the north which is now called the
Tartar city, or city of nine gates, the actual
number of its entrances. To the south is
another inclosure, less strictly guarded, as it
does npt contain, like the other, the emperor s
residence. The whole circumference of the
two combined is not less than twenty-five miles
within the walls, and independently of suburbs.
A very large portion of the centre of the
northern city is occupied and monopolised by
the emperor, with his palaces, gardens, &c.,
which are surrounded by their own wall, and
form what is called " the prohibited city.*'

What Rome was to Europe, Peking is, or
has been, to the larger portion of Asia, espe-
cially when it became the seat of Zenghis and

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CITY OF PEKING. 147

Coblai Khan, the masters of the eastern world.
While the territory of Rome, however, has
jiegenerated into the few square leagues that
constitute the patrimony of St. Peter, Peking
maintains the greater portion of its ancient
sovereignty in an integral state. The former
city has shrunk into a corner of the area com-
prised by its ancient wall ; while Peking has
doubled its original extent, within a new and
additional wall, and possesses considerable
suburbs without the walls. It was naturally
with feelings of considerable interest that we
approached this singular place.

At the distance of about six miles from
Tungchow our cavalcade, which like most
large bodies moved slowly, halted, as it was
beginning to grow dark, for refreshment. The
place at which we alighted was for all the
world just like the stable-yard of an inn, and
the knight of La Mancha himself would never
have taken it for a castle. On a table in the
middle of this yard stood a most uninviting
repast, which some of our party very properly
denominated " a mess of broken victuals." The

h2

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148 SK£TC^ES OF CHINA.

principal part of the entertainment consisted
of half-plucked, untrussed fowls in a boiled
state, and altogether so nasty that few, if any,
of our party could be induced to touch them ;
and there was plenty of water to be had in
wooden buckets. What seemed to make this
unseemly treat the more inexcusable was the
fact that two of our principal conductors were
with us, and therefore could not plead igno-
rance of its nature. Some of the Chinese,
however, had such elevated notions of English
refinement, that they supposed, or at least said,
that it was in conformity with " the customs
of our country."

As the Kinchae stated that we could not
arrive at Yuenmingyuen before the next morn-
ing, I felt no desire to pass the whole night in
the saddle, and exchanged my horse for one
of the .wretched little Chinese tilted carts.
But we had not proceeded half a mile before
I had abundant reason to regret the choice, for
the convulsive throes of this primitive machine,
without springs, on the ruined granite road,
produced an eflfect little short of lingering

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ONE-HORSE CARTS. 14^

death ; and the only remedy was to get out as
often as possible and walk. Our expectations
had been raised by Kwdng's assurance, that the
gates of Peking would be kept open beyond the
usual hour for our reception; and when we
had passed on for about half an hour through
a handsome suburb, containing shops whose
fronts were richly carved and gilded, we ac-
tually reached the eastern gate towards mid-
night. But what was the disappointment and
indignation of the whole party when the caval-
cade, instead of entering the gate, turned sharp
round to the right, and began skirting the city
wall on the outside !

I was excessively irritated at this moment
by the obtrusive curiosity of the people, who
had provided themselves with multitudes of
little paper lanterns, some of which were
thrust forward very unceremoniously towards
our persons. I was at length obliged to seize
one or two of these and put them out, after
which the annoyance in some degree ceased.
The crowd, as might be expected, were by no
means so orderly as at Tien-tsin, but partook

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of the licentious and blackguard character of
the rabble of a great capital. The soldiers,
however, treated them very cavalierly, and
made good use of their staves, whips and
sheathed swords —

" With many a stiff thwack, many a bang,
Stout crab-tree and old iron rang."

After a tedious passage round the north side
of Peking, we reached one of the western
gates, and came upon the high road to Yuenr
mingyuen. The distance was quite inconsider-
able, but our average progress was a footpace,
and day began to dawn before we had attained
our destination. During the darkness I and
several others were separated from the ambas-
sador and commissioners ; but after a wretched
night we were glad to find ourselves about day-
break at Hae-tien, close to Yuenminffyuen, in
the extensive range of buildings intended for
our residence.

August 29. — On issuing from my Scythian
plaustrum, more dead than alive, I found two
of the gentlemen of the embassy pacing up and
down in the open court or inclosure before the

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ARRIVAL AT YUENMINGYUEN. 151

building, while a number of mandarins were
staring at them. Some of these at length
showed us the range of apartments destined
for us, and tired with the night's journey, we
threw ourselves down to sleep, as it happened,
in the ambassador s room. We were presently,
however, awakened by the arrival of his lord-
ship, accompanied by a number of the suite,
and listened with surprise to the history of
their most unexpected adventures at the em-
peror's palace.

It had evidently been the intention of the
mandarins to separate as many of the party as
possible from the ambassador and the commis-
sioners, in order to eflfect what now, for the
first time, appeared to be the object of hurryr
ing us forward during the whole night. The
carriage was conducted beyond Hae-tien to the
immediate vicinity of the imperial residence,
and, as soon as it stopped, (which was before
five o'clock in the morning,) Kwong Tajin made
his appearance and requested the inmates to
alight. The ambassador naturally desired to
be conducted to his hotel, or lodging ; but, to

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the astonishment of all the English assembled,
several of whom had by this time collected
round the carriage, the mandarins very
earnestly urged their immediately proceeding,
for a short time, to a conference with Duke
Ho.

The party then were conducted to an apart-
ment on the other side of the court before which
the carriage had stopped. Here the whole
truth broke upon them at once. From the
great number of mandarins in their full dresses
of ceremony, including princes of the blood,
wearing their circular badges^ it. became evi-
dent that this was the moment of an imperial
audience; and that the ambassador and com-
missioners had been inveigled by the most un-
worthy artifices, and the most indecent haste,
to be carried before the emperor in their present
unprepared state. They were presently in-
formed that his majesty had changed the day
of audience from to-morrow to this day, and
that Duke Ho was waiting to conduct them at
once into his presence !

The ambassador pleaded that> without his

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STRANGE OCCURRENCES AT THE PALACE. 153

credentials, and the letter he was charged with
from his sovereign, this was impossible; re-
questing at the same time that it might be
stated he was ill from the eflfects of the journey,
and required some rest. Duke Ho presently
appeared in person, and urged his lordship to
proceed direct to the emperor, who was wait-
ing to give him audience. It 'was in vain that
every argument was repeated ; the duke's earn-
estness only seemed to increase with opposi-
tion, until he at length forgot himself so far
as to gripe his lordship's arm violently, while
one of the lads of Mougden stepped up at the
same time. The ambassador immediately shook
them off, and behaved with great dignity and
composure at this trying moment ; telling the
officer of the guard, who, like Gregory in the
play, seemed inclined to ** remember his swash-
ing blow," that no swords must be drawn.
The highest indignation was naturally ex-
pressed, and a fixed determination to proceed
to no audience in such a manner. The party
at length retired, with the appearance of an
understanding that the audience should take

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•place on the morrow, as before agreed upon.
The emperor's physician was soon after de-
spatched to see his excellency.

The crowd of mandarins had in the mean
while displayed a very indifferent specimen of
their court breeding by crowding upon the
English party, and examining their persons
and dress with the most unceremonious curi-
osity ; and another strange scene took place
as the ambassador was quitting the room, for
when the crowd of idlers, spurred on by their
inquisitiveness, pressed on in such a manner
as to impede the doorway, Duke Ho snatched
a whip, with which he belaboured them
handsomely on all sides. The courtly apan-
age (some of them with yellow girdles)
dispersed like a flock of sheep. When his
excellency reached our intended dwelling, they
crowded in like manner into the large room,
and peeped through the windows of his private
apartment, making holes with their fingers in
the coloured paper windows; but when the
ambassador entreated some of our party to
clear the place of these intruders, they fled

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ABRUPT REJECTION OF MISSION. 155

out at the entrance the moment they perceived
in what a summary mode the writ of ejectment
was about to be served on them.

On first returning to us at Hae-tien, his
excellency told us that he had successfully
resisted the violent conduct of the Chinese,
but it was impossible to say what they might
do next. Shortly afterwards it was intimated
to us by Chang that the emperor was in a
towering passion, and that we were to go back
directly to Tung-chow. This certainly was
a barbarous, not to say brutal, measure, con-
sidering that we had only just arrived from a
most fatiguing night journey; but I was
not altogether sorry to hear the announce-
ment. Whatever might have been the opinion^
of one or two persons on the subject of the
ceremony, there could be no diflFerence of
tsentiment on the present occasion. The insult
offered had been so gross, and so completely
deyeloped the disposition of the Peking court,
as to make it evident that we were to expect
nothing in the way of favors.

In the mean while a most elegant repast

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156 SKETpHES OP CHIN^.

was served up by way of breakfast, consisting
of the greatest delicacies, and some really
fine grapes and other fruit laid out on por-
celain of the richest description. This formed
a singular contrast with our bait of the pre-
ceding night in the stable-yard, and the diflFer-
ence between our treatment, when in and out
of favour, was remarkable. A mandarin from
the "general of the nine gates," (a sort of
praetorian prefect,) came to hasten our de-
parture, saying that " a million of men obeyed
his orders."

When the baggage, of which very little had
been unloaded, was ready, we set off on our
return at four in the afternoon^ nearly in the
same manner we had come, except that the
ambassador'^s carriage was given up to the sick,
and chairs used instead. The daylight in the
early part of our journey enabled us to take a
good view of the lofty walls of Peking as we
skirted them, and some of the party provided
themselves with fragments of the blue bricks
which compose it. When darkness came on
our miseries commenced^ and I may safely say

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NIGHT JOURNEY TO TUNGCHOW. 157

that I never passed so wretched a night, except
perhaps the one immediately preceding. We
were rattled and jolted in a horrible manner
along the old granite road, which was harder,
if possible, than the emperor s heart. To be
placed in one of these Chinese carts, and
obliged to sit just over the axle-tree, without
the intervention of a spring, was the next thing
to being pounded in a mortar.

We had scarcely the alternative of a vralk
by the side of these " infernal machines/' for
it rained most violently soon after dark, and
the road was inundated. Rather, however,
than be shaken the whole way, I jumped out
and attempted to walk or rather wade through
the holes and puddles, which from the darkness
were not easily avoided. Some of our party
returned by the way they came, on the outside
of the walls of Tung-chow ; but my charioteer
stopped at the gate until it was opened, and
after driving through a considerable portion
of the town, carried me out at another gate.
Nothing was to be seen, for it was nearly dark,
and the inhabitants were at rest. The day

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soon afterwards began to dawn, and at half
past four I reached our boats, where only a few
of the party had arrived.

August 30. — One of the first arrivals was the
ambassador s carriage with the invalids, which
reached us in safety, though the poor men were
the worse for the journey. His lordship and
the commissioners did not appear until six
o'clock. It was with gratification, rather than
regret, that I observed the gates of our former
Koong-kwariy or hotel, blocked up and barri-
caded with boards, as our boats were a far more
comfortable residence, and we had inhabited
the other only at the particular desire of the
mandarins, and because the emperor " had very
long ears." Our baggage at length began to
drop in by degrees, and I was happy to make
a change in my clothes after two such days
and nights. It is most remarkable that the
whole of the multitudinous list of articles came
back, although some were unavoidably injured,
(as we ourselves were,) by hard shaking, and
others by the wet. Perhaps there is no country
of Europe in which poor working people,

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EXCHANGE OF PRESENTS PROPOSED. 159

pressed into the service at random^ would have
so scrupulously delivered up their respective
charges after such a scrambling and hurried
journey as that of the past night, during which
most of them must have been left to them-
selves, without guards or surveillance of any
kind.

I had retired to rest very early, to com-
pensate for two nights of unusual fatigue, but
at ten o'clock was roused by a message from
the Ambassador, to say that the two imperial
legates were in his boat at that late hour, and
that they waited for me as the medium of
communication. I accordingly found them
both with his lordship, dejected and forlorn,
but charged with some presents to our sovereign
from their emperor, namely, a joo-yy or sceptre
of good fortune, made from one large piece
of jade, called by the Chinese Yu ; a dozen of
the purses which the emperor wears at his
side; and some necklaces of large ChaouHjhoo,
or " court beads."

These things were paltry enough with refer-
ence to their intrinsic value, but fully equal

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160 SKETCHES OP CHINA.

to the presents of the last embassy. In I'eturn,
the mandarms produced a paper containing
the names of a few things among our presents
which the emperor desired to have, namely :
the pictures of their majesties ; four large
maps, three of which were the United King-
doms; and the books of engravings. It
certainly was desirable that some parting ex-
change of this kind should be made, since we
were to travel through the whole length of the
empire as the guests of the government. Af-
ter all that had passed, a natural feeling of
soreness on both sides might have rendered
our future intercourse with the Mandarins
extremely unpleasant, but for this peace-oflFering
on their part.

The Kinchaes stated in the customary
strain of Chinese assumption, that the reason
for the exchange of presents was their em-
peror's wish that our king might not be very
angry with us on our return; but his excel-
lency told me to inform them that he had no
apprehensions whatever of the displeasure of
his sovereign, being quite conscious that he

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EXCHANGE OF PRESENTS PROPOSED. 161

had done his duty throughout; and he took
occasion to express his dissatisfaction at the
treatment he had received from their govern-
ment. The presents, it was added, were mat-
ters of no moment, and as the emperor desired
to have them they might go to Peking.

The two legates endeavoured to throw all
blame from themselves, as to being accessary
to any ill-behaviour towards the ambassador,
though they knew full well that we had good
reason to complain of them both. His excel-
lency had, in former interviews, been accua*
tomed to offer his arm to the aged Soo Tajin
when he rose to take leave, but on this occasion
the old gentleman was allowed to make the
best of his own way.

And here might be considered to have ter-
minated the diplomatic part of our embassy,
the embrouillenient of which was due to the
more than Machiavellian tortuosities and bad
faith of that prince of Chinese jugglers, Duke
Ho. It was highly satisfactory to us at a
subsequent date, to learn from a sort of peni-

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^62 SKETCHES OP CHINA.

tential manifesto, issued by the emperor, that
Ho and his coadjutors were all of them hand-
somely punished for deceiving their sovereign,
and causing all the mischief that had occurred.
I have no doubt whatever, that the provincial
government of Canton had largely bribed the
Peking Mandarins to prevent our obtaining
any effectual access to the emperor. The em-
bassy had principally arisen in the exactions
and annoyances lately suffered by British
subjects at Canton ; and in forwarding the
notice of our approach, the viceroy and his col-
leagues had doubtless done their best to
frustrate the objects of our mission. The
openness to bribery of the highest Chinese
functionaries may partly be explained by the
fact, that few or none of them possess heredi-
tary patrimonies, and that most of the hangers
on of the court, in the shape of descendants
or offsets of the imperial family, are maintained
on meagre salaries and allowances. They there-
fore want the independence, as to circumstances,
of an hereditary aristocracy, possessing ample

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HISTORY OF AN AMBASSADOR'S FATE. 163

private fortunes. It is in this sense that we
must understand the Chinese aphorism, "In-
tegrity and justice are generally the com-
panions of affluence and abundance : — the poor
and the destitute conceive the idea of dis-
honesty."

The generally cautious and prudent charac-
ter of the Chinese government might be con-
sidered to have ensured the British embassy
from anything worse than rudeness at the
hands of the offended " son of heaven." Still they
were within reach of the fangs of an absolute
despot, while they ventured to dispute his su-
preme will; and an individual of the party
overheard two Chinese very gravely asking
each other, why the emperor did not cut off
our heads for our disobedience ? The follow-
ing incident, from their histories, describing
the treatment of an ambassador, may perhaps
show that the danger was not altogether ima-
ginary.

About the middle of the tenth century of
our era, and during the fifty years and mare

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164 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

which succeeded the extinction of the TAng
dynasty, China was divided into five different
states, more or less independent of each other.
A certain envoy named Sunshing was sent
from one of these to the state Chow. The
king of Chow treated the ambassador at first
with great attention, and gave him not only
a banquet, (like ours at Tien-tsin,) but an au-
dience besides. The envoy was plied with
wine by the ministers, who wished to obtain
from him the secrets and intentions of his
own government; but, with all due reserve
on these points^ our accomplished Chinese
Talleyrand confined himself to general expres-
sions of civility and good-will.

When everything had failed, either the first
lord of the treasury, or the foreign minister,
said to this faithful envoy, "I have a royal
message to communicate : his majesty confers
death upon you!" On the receipt of this
surprising intelligence the ambassador neither
changed countenance, nor manifested the least
emotion; but composing his garments, (as

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AN ambassador's FATE. 165

Csesar did at the base of Pompey s statue,)
turned towards the south where his sovereign
resided, and bowing low, exclaimed, " I cheer-
fully endure death to serve my country." The
history adds that upwards of a hundred persons,
his official attendants, were put to death with
him.

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166

CHAPTER VII.

Preparations to travel south — Character of conducting man-
darins — King and Queen^s pictures — Chinese fortune-
tellers — Neglect of sepulture in accidental cases — Limited
extent of infanticide — Late occurrences at Peking ex-
plained — Inequality of climate — Chinese gymnastics —
Superstitions — ^A man of general knowledge — Tortoises
sacred animals — Similarity of the Chinese in the north
and south — Quit the Peiho towards the canal — Import-
ance of Tien-tsin in a war — Promotion of conducting man-
darin, and reasons — His good-breeding — Noisy boatmen
— Alluvial country — Music described — Building de-
dicated to summer solstice — Town of Tsinghein — Song
of the husbandmen — Accident at Nanpehien — Docu-
ment from emperor — ^Enter Shantung province.

As preparations were rapidly making for our
departure to the south, I visited the legate with
a commission from Lord Amherst to explain
the necessity of arranging that the baggage
and stores should accompany the progress of
our boats. So little attention had hitherto
been paid to this, that we suffered the utmost

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PREPARATIONS TO TRAVEL SOUTH. 167

inconvenience, except at those intervals when
the mission had been stationary. Had the sup-
plies of the Chinese been of a fitting descrip-
tion, the subject would have deserved little
notice ; but as we had already been reduced to
something very little better than starvation,
it was fortunate that the embassy, to a certain
extent, possessed the means of independence
within itself

The Kinchae fully concurred in what I said,
and it required little persuasion to convince
him that the less access we had to our own
resources, the more we should have to draw
upon his. It was therefore arranged that the
junks laden with our maUriel should not be
separated from the passage-boats. Kwong
Tajin then informed me, that he was commis-
sioned by the emperor to accompany and con-
duct us all the way to Canton ; but that our
old friends Chang and Yin were only to go a
part of the distance.

These two mandarins had conducted them-
selves upon the whole extremely well towards
us. Chang, the civil functionary, had dis-

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168 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

played occasionally something of the double
dealing and the spirit of insincerity common
to his class; but Yin, the soldier, was all
frankness, and had particularly gained our
good-will and confidence on the unfortunate
morning at Hae-tien^ when the rest deserted
us. We had formed a pretty intimate ac-
quaintance with both of them after a month's
intercourse, and knew how to make allowances
for the servants of such an autocrat as their
emperor, whose single word was sufficient to
consign them to death, in the event of any
suspicion of a collusion with foreigners. It
was therefore disagreeable to think that we
must soon be separated from them, and con-
signed to the care of persons who (especially
in our present untoward circumstances) might
not prove such agreeable acquaintance. It
was generally understood that both Soo and
Kwong Tajin were to be degraded on account
of the unfortunate results of the trip to Yuen-
mingyuen, and that the latter especially was to
lose his lucrative office of salt-commissioner at
Tien-tsin.

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KING AND queen's PICTURES. 169

I went from the legate to inspect the actual
arrangements on board the flotilla of junks,
and then proceeded to the huge mat-sheds be-
fore noticed, in which were to be opened and
examined the presents destined for the em-
peror, with a view to discern and repair, if
possible, any damage before they were sent to
Peking. The two legates attended for the
purpose of inspecting the diflFerent articles.
When their majesties' pictures were opened,
it naturally occurred that, as the Chinese at-
tach such sanctity to the imagined presence
of their own sovereign, when represented by
only a yellow screen, it would not be right to
subject these more lively representations to the
vulgar gaze. Before they were taken from the
cases, the place was cleared of the crowd of
Chinese assembled, and only the legates re-
mained.

These two functionaries seemed sensibly net-
tled by a little unexpected incident, which
tended to show them that we entertained an
opinion of the greatness of our own sovereign,
fully equal to any ideas which they might have

VOL. I. I

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170 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

inspired in us regarding theirs. When the re-
presentations of British majesty were displayed,
the whole party of English present, including
the ambassador, made precisely the same obeis-
ance with which they had consented to honour
the yellow curtain of the Chinese emperor on
the occasion of the late feast at Tienrtsin. On
turning round, I observed Kwong looking as
black as thunder, so completely had this cere-
mony discomposed his established notions of
the universal supremacy of the great emperor.
It might be well for Chinese assumption if
lessons of this kind were more frequently
taught it ; and the increasing means of direct
communication from the west seem calculated
to multiply the opportunities.

September 1. — I to-day saw what I had
before only read of in Chinese books, an itine-
rant fortune-teller and practitioner in medi-
cine — something between a gipsey and a quack-
doctor. These impostors go about two or three
together, one of them frequently blowing a
cow's horn, like the respectable professors men-
tioned in Hudibras. A prescription of theirs

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CHINESE FORTUNE-TELLERS. 171

is for the conjuror to hold a red-hot ball in
his mouth, and then drop the same into water,
in which the patient is bathed. The warm
ablution may be a good-enough remedy in
some of the nasty diseases to which the Chi-
nese are subject

There are likewise witches, or female pro-
fessors of the black art, who pretend to con-
verse with the dead, and to give responses to
their living kindred ; but these Chinese Canidias
are discouraged and forbidden by the govern-
ment. Lighted sticks of incense are placed on a
table before them, with sundry other idle forms ;
upon which they lay their faces on their hands,
and mutter sentences as if conversing with the
dead, whose answers they pretend to convey.

We left Tungchow at noon, on the 2nd of
September, and proceeded on our way back to
Tienrtsin. I was not sorry to see our boats'
heads turned from a place where we had suf-
fered nothing but annoyance. It soon appeared
quite plain that, with all the pretended libera-
lity of the Chinese court, we should certainly
run the chance of being starved unless we pro-

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cured provisions for ourselves and our people. I
understood from a Chinese that Kwong and
his colleagues had been amerced by the emperor
for the full amount of the expenses of the em-
bassy during its stay in China ! This could be
no light matter, and the evident tendency was to
put us upon short commons. The Chinese
themselves say, " When the fire breaks out at
the city gate, the fish in the moat are sufferers,"
— the water being taken to quench the fire —
Delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi. We accord-
ingly volunteered to purchase provisions for
ourselves, a proposition which was received by
our conductors with just so much " sweet re-
luctant amorous delay," as might serve to save
appearances. Henceforward it became a re-
gular system to supply ourselves to a consider-
able extent.

September 3. — This morning I saw a dead
body floating by in a horrible state. The
Chinese are very particular in giving sepulture
to their own kindred ; but when a poor devil
has no relations to bury him, the public au-
thorities appear to take little care to supply the

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NEGLECT OF SEPULTURE IN SOME CASES. 173

want. I confess that it has always been my
own experience to see as many corpses of grown
persons as of children in this condition, which
seems to militate against the notion that the
children are generally instances of exposure on
the part of the parents. They are more likely
to be accidental cases of drowning, among the
crowded population that lives upon the rivers.
Infanticide certainly does exist, but the Chi-
nese are generally too fond of their children to
allow it to prevail to any great extent. With
them the real cause is that destitution which
springs from the excess of population beyond
the means of subsistence — an excess which is
fully accounted for by the undue encouragement
given to increase. Juvenal tells us, that the
same crime prevailed in his time, and was per-
petrated by poison, but from a very different
cause — ^the luxury and depravity of the Roman
women —

" Tune duos un^, ssevissima vipera, coenSi,
Tune duos ? — septem, si septem fort^ Assent!"

Sat. vL

I was not in the least surprised when Chang

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174 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

Tajin informed me that the whole business of
alluring us from Tungchow to the court was a
trick of Duke Ho ; and that it had never been
intended to dispense with the Tartar prostra-
tion in any public audience whatever. The
emperor was, in fact, kept in complete igno-
rance by Ho, who seems to have been fool
enough to suppose, that after our arrival at
Yuenmingyuen the ambassador might be ca-
joled or frightened into the performance of what
he had so strenuously resolved not to perform.
The emperor's resentment, then, arose, not from
our refusal of the Tartar prostration (for of the
refusal he was never apprised), but from the re-
port of his excellency declining the audience on
the plea of sickness, which it is probable his
physician was sent to disprove. Now, the ambas-
sador did not refuse the audience on the ground
of permanent sickness, but on that of excessive
fatigue; to which was to be added the im-
propriety of his attending the emperor on his
first arrival from a night journey, without due
and adequate preparation. The infamous con-
duct of Duke Ho, in enticing his excellency to

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LATE OCCURRENCES AT PEKING EXPLAINED. 175

the palace under false pretexts, would alone
have been a very proper ground. A report
prevailed that some of the court grandees, in-
censed at the proper resentment which was dis-
played by our party, when the unmannerly and
indecent curiosity of these gentry became in-
tolerable, had made a purposely unfavorable
report to the emperor, and induced his majesty
to believe that the ambassador's indisposition
was not real, but a mere pretext for escaping
the proposed audience. Under any circum-
stances, however, we had no great loss, for a
reception at court like that which seems to
have been intended was, perhaps, better avoided.
There is no telling what any insult or violence
offered in the emperor's presence might have
led to.

It was at one time suggested, in consequence
of the recent intelligence, that a letter should
be written to the emperor, detailing the real
circumstances of the case, in order that he
might not remain under a delusion ; but this
advice was overruled, and it was decided that
no letter at all should be sent, as the emperor

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might in consequence be inclined to send for
us back, without any arrangement respecting
the non-performance of the Tartar ceremony,
by which means matters would be rendered
much worse than they were at present.

Most of us were surprised by the extreme
heat of the climate at so great a distance from
the equator as forty degrees of north latitude.
During the whole of our stay at Tungchow the
thermometer at noon-day often stood at ninety
degrees, while at night or towards morning it
frequently fell to seventy or less, thus making
a dilG^rence of twenty degrees in fourteen or
fifteen hours. Under these circumstances it
cannot be a very healthy climate. Many of
our people were taken ill, and we buried one
man at Tungchow. The common Chinese
either wore a single cotton shirt, or went en-
tirely bare to the waist; while the stores of
sheepskin coats, and other skin garments in the
shops, bore witness to the difference of their
costume during the winter, which is here more
severe than in England.

September 4.- — Our boats anchored as soon

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INEQUALITY OF CLIMATE. 177

as four o'clock in the afternoon, and did not
move for the rest of the day. The slowness of
our progress at present was evidently the result
of design, as no natural obstacles whatever ex-
isted. It was strange that they should not be
in a greater hurry to get rid of such expensive
guests as we must be ; for the mere pay of the
boats in which we were conveyed was a serious
matter, the number of persons engaged being
estimated at three hundred and more. We
could account for it only on two suppositions —
either that they had some idea of getting us
back to Peking, or were desirous of delaying
our arrival at Tien-stin, where the arrange-
ments for our future progress were perhaps not
completed. They are always extremely anxious
to avoid the long residence of strangers in or
near their large towns, either from a fear of
their observations and notes, or the dread of dis-
turbances with the natives.

The mandarin conductor of Lord Amherst's
boat, who had somehow or other got the name
among us of" Commodore Ko," exhibited several
of his gymnastic exercises for our amusement.

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178 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

He desired one of the party to make a blow at
his face, and then, turning it aside, ran in and
seized his antagonist by the leg to upset him. In
the mean while he was at the mercy of the left
hand. The importance which the Chinese attach
to bodily strength and dexterity in their military
officers proves the low state of the art of war
among them. This mandarin of ours was a
fat and good-natured fellow, of about forty, who
had raised himself in our estimation by conti-
nuing the same civil and respectful behaviour
since the rejection of the embassy as before, and
by persisting in his daily attention and good
QJfices unchanged.

Happening to sneeze violently, he, laughing,
exclaimed, " Somebody is talking of me !" Many
superstitions are in China attached to the act
of sneezing, in common with other countries.
The Chinese generally consider it lucky, and
imagine that it denotes " good fortune, and
a profitable undertaking."^ They have rules
of divination which they practice in reference
to sneezing, the twinkling of the eyelid, &c.
So in Italy, if any one sneezes in a carriage.

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A MAN OF GENERAL KNOWLEDGE. 179

the coacliman will turn round, touch his hat,
and say, " Felicita !" These foolish observances
are a pretty sure proof of the general ignorance
of the people among whom they prevail, whe-
ther Asiatic or European.

Ignorance and conceit were perhaps never
more strongly combined than in a certain civil
mandarin of high rank, who had accompanied
our progress thus far from Tungchow. His
of&ce was ganchasze, or criminal judge of
Peking, and his pretensions those of universal
knowledge. Without condescending to ask
any questions about our country, he proceeded
to inform us that England was a region of
Europe, extremely weak by land, though pow-
erful at sea, and entirely dependent on com-
merce. He then proceeded to expatiate on the
homage due to the supreme majesty of China ;
and must have had a high notion of the mo-
deration and forbearance of his auditors, or, if
he did not intend to offend them, a very over-
weening estimate of the relative superiority of
himself and his country. It is likely that the
latter was the real state of the case.

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180 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

On the morning of the 6th an extraordinary
fall of more than twenty-five degrees occurred
in the thermometer, which was now reduced be-
low sixty of Fahrenheit, much to our comfort
In the Chinese boats the extreme heat of the sun
was particularly annoying, until this welcome
change took place, as their flat roofs are easily
heated through. This favorable weather af-
forded a number of our party the opportunity
of exercising themselves on shore, when the
boats came to an anchor rather early on the
day. A friendly visit from Chang Tajin served
to pass a portion of the afternoon. We showed
him our books, and he was much taken
with the portrait of Wan Tajin, one of the
conductors of Lord Macartney's embassy.

Chang informed us that he was to accompany
us to the adjoining province of Shantung, but
no further; and added, that the judge who
vaunted his European knowledge was to quit
us there also. We could well dispense with
the latter gentleman ; but Chang, and his mi-
litary colleague Yin, had acquired our good
opinion so far as to make us wish for their

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TORTOISES SACRED ANIMALS. 181

continued offices, and regret the transfer of their
functions to other hands. Chang expressed
himself warmly in the praise of Englishmen,
and admired (he told us) their integrity and
sincerity. The Chinese certainly have the
names of these virtues, but, to use a phrase of
their own — " the names only and not the re-
ality," — yew ming^ woo shS.

September 6. — We reached our old anchor-
ing place at Tien-tsin soon after mid-day. The
curiosity of the people in this populous place
seemed yet unsatisfied with gazing at us, for
the crowds assembled on the shore were not
less than on our last visit. So dense was the
mass of the populace, that it was thought most
prudent to confine our walk on land, in this
place, to a large square space which was cleared
by the soldiers. It was here that I paid par-
ticular attention to two of those columns sup-
ported by tortoises, which have excited the
attention of travellers, and are of a monu-
mental and religious nature. The famous Em-
peror Fohy is said to have taken his mystical
numbers from the figures on the back shell of

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182 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

the tortoise, which is still used by the Chinese
m their divination, called Po. The tortoise,
the dragon, the keliriy and the foonghHtang (of
which the three last are fabulous), constitute
a list of mystical animals to which they con-
stantly refer in their literature, and to which
allusions are frequently made in their sculp-
ture and drawings. To kill a tortoise is sup-
posed to be extremely unlucky, and certain to
bring misfortune upon the perpetrator. In the
'' Book of Rewards and Punishments," it is re-
lated that a certain person, who discovered a
number of tortoises, killed them and made a
profit by their shells. His body was in con-
sequence covered with sores, and when he got
into a bath, by way of a remedy, it suddenly
assumed the form of a tortoise, and the patient
soon afterwards died in great agony. The tor-
toise-shell used at Canton in various manufac-
tures is all imported from abroad.

That quarter of the town of Tien-tsin which
adjoined our boats possessed few features of
interest. In lieu of shops the streets con-
sisted in great measure of the dead walls

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TORTOISES SACRED ANIMALS. 183

in front of dwelling-houses, which are always
secluded within an inner court; q,nd nothing
in an English town would more surprise a
Chinese than the publicity of the rooms of
dwelling-houses looking into a street. For
the exclusion of noise and other annoyances,
their plan is certainly the best ; but it entails
an immense sacrifice of space, which is still
more aggravated by their houses being of only
one story. When the Emperor Kien-loong
saw a perspective view of a street in Paris
or London, he observed that the territory
must be very small whose inhabitant? were
obliged to pile their houses to the clouds. In
the poem on London, by a Chinese visitor, it
is stated, —
"The houses are so lofty that you may pluck the stars."
On the morning of the 7th September, there
was some recurrence of complaints from the
guard, .and the men forming the band, that
they were insufficiently supplied with food;
and as these frequent alarms of impending
starvation were not agreeable, a serious repre-
sentation was made to our conductors, who

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184 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

promised that the supplies should be in fiiture
more regular. I endeavoured to take a walk
in the suburbs, but the dirt of the street and
the pressure of the mob soon forced me to turn
back. On my return I met the son of Chang
Tajin, a lad of eighteen, on board Sir George
Staunton's boat, where he was paying a visit.
When this was concluded, I accompanied him
on board the boat of the third commissioner.
He was very modest and silent, as befitted his
age ; but seemed to take a great fancy to some
cherry brandy that was offered to him. The
Chinese never like our wines, though any
sweet liqueur they will generally take with
relish. The French and German liqueurs
were among the presents which the Elast India
Company annually sent to Canton for the man-
darins ; and they also form an article of con-
siderable trade at that place. A hermetically
sealed Chinese bottle, curiously covered with
yellow silk, and containing some unknown
liquor, was kept as a great rarity for about a
quarter of a century y by a gentleman in Eng-
land. Curiosity at length prevailed so far as

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SIMILARITY IN NORTH AND SOUTH. 185

to lead to an examination of the contents,
which proved to be some excellent Maras-
chino, which had been taken out to China,
re-bottled by the natives, and sold to some
Englishman as a Chinese production !

I could not help noting in this place an
observation that had often struck me since our
landing. On looking forward to accompany-
ing an embassy to Peking from the neighbour-
hood of Canton, which lies at the immense
distance of seventeen degrees (the difference
between Edinburgh and Madrid), it was na-
tural to expect a considerable disparity between
China to the north and China to the south.
What was our surprise, therefore, to find that
there really exists scarcely the least dissimi-
larity in the character of the people, in their
customs, in their dress, or in any single cir-
cumstance whatever. Even in their com-
plexion, which might be expected to be
considerably fairer to the northward, there
was not a shade of difference ; except, indeed,
that the expectation of finding them lighter
.made us think them rather darker. It was

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186 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

not likely, after observing such perfect iden-
tity at the extremes, that we should find any
variation in our progress through the centre
of the country. Much, however, on various
points was to be learned from actual inspec-
tion of their towns and their country ; and
the approaching journey was fraught with
interest to all. I had unfortunately got a
fellow attached to my boat who, though a
military mandarin with a gold ball on his
cap, could not write the character so well
as myself, and whose general ignorance on
every subject (beyond the use of his pipe and
his bowl of rice), made it vain to hope for
any information from him.

On the morning of the 8th September we
left Tien-tsin, and commenced our journey to
the southward. Instead of going any farther
down the Peiho towards the sea, we turned
to the right up a stream which falls into the
Peiho, and leads to the grand canal. Having
reached new ground, the voyage became ex-
tremely interesting. A large portion of the
city of Tien-tsin is situated on the right bank

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QUIT THE PEIHO. 187

of the river which we now entered, at its con-
fluence with the Peiho. Some handsome
buildings were pointed out, and among the
rest the official residence of our legate con-
ductor, when he was superintendent of the
salt department at this place, but which he
had now lost by the emperor s displeasure.

The suburbs were extensive and good, and
continued above a couple of miles beyond the
city, denoting this to be a most important and
rich place, although not ranking as a regular
city. The name of our river was Nan-yun
Hoy or the "stream of southern communica-
tion," and appeared to have a Paelow, or con-
secrated gateway, inscribed to its honour on
the bank. These ornamental structures are
also called Pae-fdng, and consist sometimes
of wood, but generally of stone, having one
larger gateway in the middle, and two smaller
ones at the sides. They are occasionally reared
to the honour of the living, and sometimes
to commemorate the dead. A native of Can-
ton, who was famous as a statesman under the
Ming J or Chinese dynasty, has a Paelow still

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188 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

remaining, inscribed, Shing she chih chin, — " an
upright minister in flourishing times." The
Tartars do not seem to have overthrown all these
monuments of the native race of emperors.

The country now became extremely pretty,
though perfectly flat. The neighbourhood of
the great city which we had just left was laid
out, along its whole level, in the garden style,
and planted with vegetables of all kinds. We
observed some handsome edifices of the sepul-
chral kind, which they told us were the tombs
of priests. They were constructed of excellent
brickwork, and had an urnlike shape, being
narrower towards the bottom than the top,
where they assumed the form of a bulb, and
were surmounted with small balls. As the
bodies of the Budhist priests are burnt after
death, these probably contained their ashes,
and the shape of a vase or urn was sufficiently
appropriate.

Tien-tsin may shortly become a spot of deep
interest to us in this country. It must be viewed
as the first object of attack to any force which
should make an attempt in the neighbourhood

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IMPORTANCE OF TIEN-TSIN IN A WAR. 189

of the capital, and try the strength of Chinese
troops in that quarter. Its vicinity to the
sea, and its vast importance as the depot for
grain and salt, render it extremely obnoxious
to foreign invasion. The pertinacity of the
Chinese court may perhaps prove more trouble-
some than was expected. A certain emperor
is reported to have said, " I have a strong lean-
ing to obstinate resistance. When I meet
with a small nation that does not show pro-
found respect, I never can suffer it : when I meet
with a great nation that is encroaching and
insulting, I cannot bear it patiently." But
the real motive to resistance, on the part of
the present Tartar sovereign of China, will
be the dread of dhninishing, by submission,
his influence and power over his own subjects.
Sept. 9. — ^We all of us received this morn-
ing some presents from our friend Chang Tajin.
He sent me a coloured drawing on a roller,
and a Chinese snuff-bottle ; and though these
were but trifles, I kept them as testimonies
of goodwill. Chang was highly elated at his
new promotion (of which we were only this

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190 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

day informed) to be Gan-cha-szey or criminal
judge of the province of Shantung. This
was a very high office, and in the present
instance said to be an introduction to some-
thing higher still. Chang had been raised
in so sudden and marked a manner, that there
was some ground for regarding the present
embassy as the cause of his elevation.

It was probable that as he knew us on our
first arrival, and had so much intercourse with
us since, this mandarin had been able to form
a juster estimate of our real character than
any of the other functionaries ; and that while
Duke Ho and Kwong were sending up reports
to Peking of the probability of our ultimate
consent to perform the ceremony, he might
have stated that, from his own observation
of our character and intentions, there seemed
little chance of it. Thus truth may for once
have met with its reward, even in China,
while Duke Ho and his colleague had been
punished for misleading the emperor. Such a
supposition derived strength from Chang's late
behaviour to us, which since our rejection

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GOOD-BREEDING OP CONDUCTING MANDARIN. 191

by the emperor had been rather more friendly
and civil than before ; and he often spoke of his
admiration of the blunt integrity and straight-
forwardness of the English character. It is
certain that we shall always do ourselves more
good in China by the uniform maintenance of
such a character on all occasions than by any
other line of conduct that we could pursue.
Our best aim is to acquire the respect of the
Chinese, by acting in a manner diametrically
opposite to themselves.

Chang Tajin came and sat with us at din-
ner, but did not seem much to relish our
cookery. We congratulated him on his new
titles and honours. The ease and good-breed-
ing of the better sort of Chinese, when they
are on friendly terms, is very striking, and by
no means what might be expected from the
rigid nature of their ceremonial observances.
These, however, sit upon them much easier
than might be imagined; and practice serves
to render them less formal than the programme
might lead one to believe. There is nothing
in the whole Chinese ritual to equal the suc-

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192 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

cessive robings and unrobings, the genuflexions,
bows, and crossings of a Roman Catholic
bishop at high mass.

Our boatmen during the night used fre-
quently to "keep a dreadful pother o'er our
heads," and until we became accustomed to it,
entirely spoiled our sleep. All their operations
are conducted with uproar, and on the occur-
rence of difficulty or danger the noise and
din of every kind exceeds belief. It is evident
that this must greatly aggravate the effect of
any disaster, as it is impossible for the voice
of authority to be heard where every one
screams at the pitch of his lungs. The con-
trast is great, after the perfect order and dis-
cipline that reign on board a British man-of-
war, where, in exact proportion to the exigency,
is the silent obedience to the voice of com-
mand.

I was sorry to observe that we were a source
of great oppression and ill-usage to the poor
trackers who drew our boats up against the
stream. So large a number were required by
us, that it was with great difficulty they could

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ALLUVIAL COUNTRY. 193

be collected, and there was reason to believe
that the mandarins did not pay them very
regularly. They seemed much disposed to
rebel on this occasion; but the applica-
tion of the bamboo to some of the most
mutinous appeared to awe the others, and
restored order. From the lowest of its sub-
jects, who have nothing but their labour to
give, the Chinese government frequently exacts
personal service as the only means of available
taxation.

Sept. 10. — We breakfasted this morning
near Tsing-kae Hien, a considerable town,
-which is laid down in the Jesuits' map of
China exactly under the parallel 39**. From
Peking to this point, and indeed much farther
on our way to the southward, not a stone
was observable, so completely did the coun-
try consist of alluvial deposits. This is the
tract which we have every reason to believe was
once under water, and which became drained
and cleared under the directions of the great
Yu. It is possible that the yellow river once
flowed through some part of this immense

VOL. I. K

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194 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

level, aud fell into the sea to the north of
the Shantung promontory, instead of the souths
as it does now. The vast quantity of mud
in the yellow sea, or Gulf of Pechele, and
its extreme shallowness, would seem to sup-
port such an opinion.

From the want of stone we observed tlwtt
the cottages of the common people were here
built of mud, but their condition was generally
decent, and tolerably comfortable, with chim-
neys, which the winter climate of this region
requires, but which are never seen near
Canton. Even in the kitchens of Canton,
chimneys are not used, (the general fuel for
cookery being charcoal,) but a sort of open
brickwork at the sides of a raised roof The
tenements as we viewed them from our boats,
generally appeared to be small, but indus-
triously and neatly cultivated, and shaded with
poplars or willows.

As Chang Tajin was soon to leave us, the
ambassador and commissioners visited him on
board his barge by special appointment. He
sent his row-boat for the party, and his whole

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CHINESE MUSIC. 195

behaviour was of the most friendly and polite
kind. Instead of taking the first seat, like the
legate, he placed all his guests above him,
receiving their congratulations on his late
appointment very kindly. He pointed out
with great apparent satisfaction his nomination
to his new oSice in the Peking gazette, and
stated that he must return to court to be pre-
sented before he could enter on his functions
as provincial judge. The antechamber of his
own apartment was occupied by his clerks,
busily engaged in writing.

We unfortunately stopped, about ten o'clock
at night, near a spot where a number of sol-
diers with music were drawn up ; and it was
perhaps in celebration of Chang Tajin's new
honours that they maintained a dismal squeak-
ing, and disturbed our quiet. Of all burlesques
upon harmony, the Chinese music is perhaps
the most atrocious ; every man would seem to
be playing a different tune, or rather, making
a different noise, and the predominance of the
tones of the Scottish bagpipe does not lessen
the evil by any mean^.

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196 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

About noon on the eleventh we were near
the prettiest and most picturesque-looking build-
ing that I had ever seen in the country. It
consisted of three stories, and the ground plan
was hexagonal. The three projecting roofs of
varnished tiles were of a rich massive construc-
tion, and the proportions of the whole extremely
good. The purpose of the building was reli-
gious, and it was dedicated to the Chinese
constellation Kwd, which is Cancer, and pro-
bably signifies the summer solstice. The ejGFect
of the building was much enhanced by pic-
turesque clumps of weeping willows, of which
the Chinese are very fond, and which they
constantly allude to in their poetry. Willow
charcoal forms one of the ingredients of their
gunpowder.

Early in the afternoon we stopped at a walled
town, constituting a city of the third class, and
called Tsingkien. The suburbs adjoining our
landing-place formed, with their shops, the best
portions of the place, as we found on examin-
ation that the walls were dilapidated, and the
interior falling into decay. The people here

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tSINGHIEN. 197

struck me as being much less civil than we had
hitherto found them, and it was to be appre-
hended that in proportion as we proceeded
southwards towards Canton, we should per-
ceive increasing symptoms of that rude and in-
sulting spirit which the mistaken policy of the
local authorities has always encouraged towards
Europeans.

On quitting Tsinghien we found the river
assume a course so winding as occasionally
to bring it back almost upon itself, forming
in this manner a number of successive penin-
sulas.

Over the low flat fields we could frequently
see sails on each side of us, and as the whole
country was cultivated in the garden style
with vegetables, the effect was very pleasing.
The cultivators of the land in this country
must certainly enjoy a sufficient degree of se-
curity to justify so much industry. In a
certain Chinese poem, abounding in their
usual antithetical style, the husbandmen are
described as saying, —

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198 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

** The sun comes forth and we work ;
The Bun goes down, and we rest :
We dig a well, and can drink ;
We plough a field, and can eat.
What is the emperor's majesty to us ?"

A party of us went ashore with the ambas-
sador, and walked for an hour and a half fol-
lowed by a considerable crowd, who were kept
in very good order by the soldiers in our
train.

I was shown some additional programmes,
in Chinese, of ceremonies and forms which
would have accompanied our reception at the
court of Peking. If we were to consider these
as actual plans of reception, it certainly was
a fortunate circumstance that we had escaped
such profitless humiliations ; for they presented
the most degrading pictures that could pos-
sibly have been devised, and were more insulting
by far than even the reception of the Dutch.
It was reasonable, however, to suppose that
these papers were mere state documents, not
intended so much to be acted on as to be pre-
served on the records for appearance sake. It

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MORE PROGRAMMES OF CEREMONIES. 199

is quite certain that no English envoy could
ever be brought to undergo one-tenth part of
the abominations which enter into the details
of these formulae.

On the night of the twelfth we stopped
late at a city of the second order, called Tsang-
chow ; but the hour being so advanced, it was
impossible to inspect it, and we left the place
early on the following morning. I had reason
to suspect that in some instances this plan was
purposely adopted by the Chinese, in order to
prevent our entering and examining the
places ; but happily for us this illiberal policy
of theirs could not very often be put in execu-
tion, as we were often unavoidably stopped for
days at considerable cities, and had a full view
of them.

I employed some of my leisure time in read-
ing and making Chinese copies of several pro-
grammes of the '* entertainments" which were
to have followed the " audience,'* had the em-
bassy been received at court. These were all.
of them in the same style of intolerable assump-
tion as the document already quoted at page 1 18^^

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200 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

and removed the last remaining feeling of re*
gret at having quitted Peking as we did.

On the I3th we passed above a hundred
sail of grain junks, all of them numbered and
classed in divisions. The country through
which we were now travelling was extremely
low and flat, and I observed that, in the Chinese
maps, the whole distance in a direct line to the
sea-coast was little more that a blank, not less
than sixty miles in extent. Its natural state
was probably one great salt marsh. Between
Tsangchow and the village of Chuevrho was
an artificial opening in the bank of the river,
bounded by two stone piers, the object of which
was to drain off any superfluous water into the

The "weather in the middle of September
continued so hot during the course of the day
as to render it impossible to take exercise except
in the morning or evening. The average height
of the glass at noon was about 80** in the shade.
On the 14th I was called away from a visit to
another barge of our embassy, by Chang Tajin
sending his own row-boat, with a request that

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ACCIDENT AT NANPEHIEN. 201

I would join him and the third commissioner,
and communicate between them. The visit from
Chang was intended as a take leave, a day or
two hence being fixed for his return to the
emperor, (now at the palace of ZH-ho in
Tartary,) in order to return thanks for his
appointment as judge of Shantung. That
mandarin afterwards came on board our dinner-
boat, when the ambassador expressed his re-
gret at the prospect of losing so kind and atten-
tive a conductor.

In the afternoon we reached a city named
Nan-pe-Hieny and found a concourse of people
scarcely inferior in number to that seen at
Tein-tsin. The intense curiosity which we ex-
cited had nearly proved fatal to many; for
when the boats stopped, a large number of
persons stationed on the top of a mud wall,
were suddenly precipitated towards the river by
the crumbling of the wall beneath their weight.
Two or three of the Chinese soldiers, who
were standing on it, and who fell with the
re^t, were excessively enraged, and began
pelting the rabble and driving them bact with

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b«..~5M^i^H

202 8KET0HBS OF CHINA,

lumps of clay and showers of dust. The wall
being low, it was fortunate that nobody was
hurt, but a large portion of the crowd were
nearly smothered in the ruins.

We were here, and v^ry frequently after-
wards, witn^ses to a strange military evolution
on the part of the guard which was assemble4
to honour the embassy or its conductors. On
the opposite side of the river was arranged a
long rank of soldiers in new dresses, and
among the rest some of the tiger-coloured
regiment, whom we had named " the*monsters
of the guard." As soon as the boats came up,
the whole line fell upon their knees, and
uttered a dismal shout, or rather howl. They
partly reminded us of the kneeling of tie
troops in some Roman Catholic countries, ^
the word of command, upon particular religious
occasion^ ; but the howl was an addition.

Sir George Staitnton obtained fronj Chang
Tajin a copy of the Peking gazette, contain-
ing the emperor's observations on the subject
of our rejection. Upon the whole, this ap-
peared to be a clever stroke of policy on the

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DOCUMENT FROM EMPEROR. 203

part of his majesty, by .which he had got very
well out of a disagreeable scrape. In a paper
of this kind, which was to be read by the
whole empire, the most awkward point was
the fact that any persons should have declined
to perform the Tartar prostration ; and thi^,
accordingly, was passed over with the least
possible allusion to it. The whole blame of
our hasty dismissal was thrown on the chief
imperial commisioners who had been appointed
to conduct us.

The paper commenced by observing th^t, as
we could not (as if from some natural inability)
perform the prostration at Tien-tsin, it was
wrong in the two legates to take us any
further. It then stated, in regard to Duke
Ho, that he had kept the emperor in ignorance
of the real truth, while we were at Tungchow,
telling him we were practising the ceremony
while we were doing nothing of the kind.
But the greatest oflfence laid to the charge of
Duke Ho was this : that on the instant of the
ambassador's arrival at Yuenmingyuen, and
his declining to proceed to an audience that

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morning without due preparation, Ho had
carried several disrespectful messages to the
emperor, stating that his excellency and the
gentlemen with him pleaded sickness, instead
of the real and proper excuse, their want of
appropriate dresses for the audience.

The emperor declared that had this objection
been stated to him at the time, he should in-
stantly have acquiesced in its propriety, and
have "recompensed the good will which
brought the envoys to him from the distance
of* ten thousand Ly.** He blamed the per-
sons of high rank who were standing by in
such numbers for not setting Duke Ho right
by their advice. The sincerity of the emperor
in this public paper had been amply evinced
by the severe punishment of the offending
mandarin or noble, who was disgraced and de-
prived of all his oflGlces. More could scarcely
be done in the way of an amende, short of the
return of our embassy to Peking, which the
present advanced state of the journey and the

* His majesty greatly understated the distance, which was
liesTer Jifly thousand.

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DOCUMENT FROM EMPEItOR. 205

unsettled question of the ceremony rendered
next to impossible.

ITie document, inasmuch as it was a public
notification that the emperor was sorry for
what had passed, was a very good supplement
to the exchange of presents at Tung-chow, and
placed our affairs on the best footing that they
now admitted of. On this paper a suggestion
was grounded by Dr. Morrison to forward an
address to the emperor, containing a list of the
requisitions that would have been made had
we been received ; but the advice was properly
overruled, for if all concurred in the opinion
that these propositions would probably have
been refused, (most of them, if not all,) had we
succeeded in obtaining an audience, the chances
of rejection were infinitely multiplied under
present circumstances.

Chang Tajin had proposed to Lord Amherst
that he should visit the loquacious judge already
mentioned, previous to the departure of that
mandarin for the court ; but his excellency
naturally declined paying the first visit where
that was evidently due to himself. It was

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then arranged that a meeting should take place
in Chang's boat; and, accordingly, when we
stopped for the night at a place called Lien-
tsun, (a little to the south of Tongkwcm Hien,)
the ambassador and third commissioner pro-
ceeded to the appointment. The judge talked,
as usual, a great deal, and in a very tiresome
manner. When the conversation turned to
the reign of K&nghy, and the refusal of the
^ Russian ambassador to perform the prostration
without some equivalent in return, the judge
declared that the Chinese mandarin who was
authorised by K&nghy to go through the
ceremony in return was a mandarin of only
the fifth order, and that he prostrated himself
before an altar, whereon was placed a picture
or symbol of the Tiencku (lord of heaven), or
god of the Christians, and not the Russian
sovereign. This sufficiently proved that the
prostration is not a mere ceremony, but a mark
of homage to a superior.

The judge, in reply to an offer from the am-
bassador, said that he could not venture, under
existing circumstances, to accept any presents

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SEPULCHRAL MONUMENTS. 207

from us, but that on the following morning he
would beg our acceptance of some from him-
self in the shape of provision^. They accord-
ingly made their appearance next day, and
displayed the ingenuity of our loquacious friend
in reconciling his liberality with the strictest
principles of economy ; for the exact amount
of his pretended gift was deducted from our
regular supply.

About noon on the 16th our attention was
excited by two large and rudely-sculptured
figures of horses, which I went on shore to
examine. They stood at the distance of about
a do^en paces apart, and facing each other.
In height they exactly corresponded to the
common Chinese horse, but were terribly out
of proportion in every part'; and their legs, in
particular, looked as if they were grievously
afflicted with elephantiasis. I guessed at once
that they were sepulchral, and had reference
to some one buried near the place. In the
play of *' An Heir in Old Age," some one asks,
"Where are the tigers and the goats of stone?*'
— ^alluding to the tombs.

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At night we reached a considerable village
called Sdng-j/tien, or " the mulberry garden,**
which is just (ui the limits of Pechele and
Shantung provinces, where a considerable
change was to be made in our establishment of
conductors and attendants. The revenue and
disbursements of every province being strictly
confined within its own limits, the expenses of
our public mission became the care of a new
set of officers, as soon as ever we passed from
one into another. These Chinese provinces
(of which there are eighteen) surpass the size
of many of the most powerful European
kingdoms. Shantung, on which we were now
entering, exceeds in square miles both England
and Scotland combined; and another, Szechuen,
is considerably larger than France. Their
population is still greater in proportion.

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209

CHAPTER VIII.

Change of mandarin attendants— city of Techow^ and re-
spect^l behaviour of some mandarins — improved appear-
ances to the southward — words strength and valour
written on soldiers' dresses — reiach Lintsingchowy where
canal commences — pagoda in honour of relics — religious
freedom on certain conditions — Stoics, Pythagoreans, and
Epicureans of China — subscriptions for books of morality
— Book of Rewards and Punishments.

We remained a day at our anchorage upon
entering the province of Shantung, in order
to complete the new arrangements. The three
mandarin attendants on the boats of the am-
bassador and commissioners, " Commodore
KoJ' and his associates, Wong and New, this
day took their leaves, and had no reason to
complain of their services being slighted, as
they were liberally rewarded, and expressed
themselves very grateful. These three men,
though they wore buttons on their caps, and
were military officers of an inferior rank, had
never been admitted by us to any higher foot^

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ing tlian a sort of upper servants, as their
manners were coarse and illiterate. The very
inferior consideration of military, as compared
with civil mandarins, is purely Chinese, and
appears, under Tartar despotism, as a singular
anomaly ; so completely has Confucius retained,
or rather recovered, his ascendancy since the
Manchow conquest. The eflFect of this on the
military spirit and habits of the Tartars must
naturally be debilitating.

On the 18th we recommenced our journey
towards the canal. The low ^at country
through which we had hitherto journeyed all
the way from Peking, at this autumnal season,
had proved very unhealthy to many of our
number, and I myself was at last laid up in all
the luxury of a severe tertian. It must surety
have been after a fit of the ague that Milton
wrote his description of the regions where

"— ^ all the damn*d
Are brought, and feel by tarns the bitter change
Of fierce extremes, extremesby change more fierce."

The country still continued its uniformly flat
appearance, but we were soon to perceive an

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RESPECTFUL BEHAVIOUR OF MANDARINS. 211

alteration at the point where the Cha-hoy " the
river of flood-gates," — that is, the Canal,
commences its course through a region where
the inequalities of surface render those artificial
aids necessary. I could already observe a dif-
ference of dialect as we advanced to the south-
ward, the pure Kwcta hwa^ or *' mandarin dia-
lect" of Peking being gradually corrupted by
provincial changes.

When we stopped in the evening at a city of
the second order, by name T^chow, a great dis-
play of soldiers, with much firing of salutes,
took place ; and while our band were playing
as usual in the front of die dinner-boat, two
or three mandarins came up and listened with
pleasure to the music. The ambasa^or, seeing
them in the crowd, invited them to walk in,
upon which th^ first retired ai^d arrayed them-
selves in their ceremonial habits, — a trait of
respectful consideration which was to be re-
ceived at its full value in China. One of these
offered his snuff-bottle as a present to Lord
Amherst, who thereupon returned the gift
with one which he held in his hand, manufac-

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tared in England of cut glass, with a gold
spoon, to imitate the shape and style of the
Chinese bottles.

Everything appeared to wear a more pros-
perous and wealthy aspect as we advanced into
the province of Shantung, and upon the whole
a marked improvement took place generally as
we proceeded southward. It was hereabouts
that we first observed the military police, who
form so large a portion of the estimated force
of the country. They wore, upon the breast
and back of their upper coats, a round white
badge, on which was inscribed in black, « ro-
bustious* citizens" — min chwdng — just as the
word t/oong, " valour," is affixed to the more
regular troops. In this manner, while some
may be born strong and valiant, others have
strength and valour " thrust upon them."

It was not until the 22nd of September that
we reached Lintsingchow^ where the canal
commences. About noon on that vday we
passed a pagoda of nine stories (paouta), in

♦ The word is used by Shakspeare — ** a robustious, peri-
wig-pated fellow,"

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PAGODA OF NINE STORIES. gl3

a perfect state of repair ; the first that I had
ever seen in actual occupation. The ground
plan was octagonal, and round each story was
inscribed in large characters O-me-to-fo (Amita
Budha)y being the constant invocation of the
Budhist priests. Several of our party went
on shore to inspect it. Like all such edifices,
it was erected in honour of the relics of Fo, the
worship of relics being a part of their idolatry ;
and the date of the pagoda was since the com-
pletion of the grand canal. Its good condition
was therefore probably owing to imperial or
public endowment. A winding stair of nearly
two hundred steps conducts to the top, the
height of which was estimated to be something
under one hundred and fifty feet. The base-
ment we observed to be excellently built of a
sort of granite, and all the rest of a glazed brick,
beautifully joined and cemented. Only two
idols of the Budhist sect were discovered in it ;
one of these occupied a niche in the lowest, and
the other in the highest story. From the top
of the pagoda a very extensive and beautifiil
view was obtained of the surrounding country.

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including the city of lAn^tsing^how at its feet,
foil of gardens and cultivated ground inter-
spersed with buildings.

While the Budhists have so many well sup*
ported establishments in China, the followers
of Confocius (the sect of the learned) have
their separate temples, in which the emperor
himself and the officers of government are the
exclusively privileged hierophants; and the
third sect, that of Laoukeun is likewise sup-
ported by a portion of the population in this
" voluntary system," though not to the ext^it
of the other two. The most perfect freedom
of profession is allowed to any sect or religion
whatever, that does not presume to meddle with
the authority of the government and the peace
of society ; and the perfect resemblance of the
Roman Catholic worship to the rites of Bud-
hism would have insured its progress in China,
had its promoters not violated these wise and
wholesome conditions. Among the three pre-
vailing systems of China, so little does there
exist of mutual hostility or controversy, that
many individuals might be found of the class

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STOICS, PYTHAGOREANS, AND EPICUREANS. 216

of the people who would be puzzled to decide
to which of the three they exclusively belonged.
Many of them worship in all temples, and their
polytheism is on the most extended scale.

It would be difficult to find any system of
religious persuasion in the whole world whose
precepts and doctrine did not contain within
them something of good, however mixed up
with error, or even mischief! Before embark-
ing on the grand, canal on our way to Canton,
we may take occasion of the delay to review
the moral sentiments of one out of the three
Chinese sects — ^the one, in fact, of which the
most meagre and undetailed accounts have
reached Europe.

The followers of Confucius may be called
the Stoics of China ; those of Fo, or Budha,
are the Pythagoreans; and the disciples of
LcLOukeun are the Epicureans of that country.
Of the last-named sect the general tenets have
been fully described in a former work.* They
tMch men, in short, to banish every vehement

♦ * Chinese,' ch. xv. Third edition.

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desire, and to repress every passion (" the
gales of life" — as Pope calls them) capable of
troubling the tranquillity of the mind. The
business of every man> according to " the doc-
tors of reason," should be to live without care ;
and in order to arrive at this happy state of
repose, they are exhorted to put away every
retrospect of the past, and to avoid all vain
and useless speculations concerning the future.
Laoukeun advises his followers to be moderate
in their wishes, and temperate in their means
of attainment, regarding nothing as a real good
that is to be purchased at the expense of dis-
quietude and anxious pains.

Professor Julien, of Paris, has translated in
fiill detail one of the principal writings of the
above sect, called the " Book of Rewards and
Punishments," a small selection from which it
will be sufficient to give in this place. Each
sentence or text is illustrated by one or more
short histories or examples, which serve to
show the notions of the Chinese generally on
the subject of morals ; since they are not con-
fined strictly and exclusively to the particular

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THE " BOOK OF REWARDS," ETC. 217

tenets of die sect in question. The dissemina-
tion of this, and of other religious or moral
books of the kind, is considered to be an act of
merit, which entitles the doer to have his most
favourite wishes accomplished. When an im-
pression is exhausted, those with whom the
wooden stereotypes are lodged open a subscrip-
tion which is soon filled. Some contribute
money, others supply paper, while those who
understand or practise printing, will take charge
of that operation gratis. At the end of M.
Julien's edition is a list of one hundred and
forty-two pious persons who combined for the
publication, in proportion to their means and
fortune. The immediate motive of each act is
generally stated ; as one, to bring about the
cure of a parent ; another, to obtain a son ; a
third, to gain literary promotion, &c. The
moral instruction of the " Book of Rewards
and Punishments" is conveyed in short stories
or apologues, from which the few following
are selected : —

VOL. I.

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Deceive not your heart in the secrecy of your
dwelling.

A certain person lived at JETwae-yang, where
he exercised the business of a trader. A friend of
his, who was a salt merchant of Shensy, being
compelled by sudden business to return to his
own province, deposited in his care a sum of one
thousand ounces of silver, and took his depar-
ture. Three years having passed away without .
his hearing anything of the owner, this honest
man put away the money in a place of security,
and despatched an emissary into Shensy to
jfind out the fate of his acquaintance. The
salt merchant was dead, and had left an only
son, who was altogether ignorant of the deposit
which had been made by his father. The
guardian of the money sent for him, and point-
ing to a flower-vase which held the thousand
ounces of silver, " The contents of that," said
he, "belong to you. They were left in my
charge by your father." The son at first would
not accept them ; but when the other insisted
on his assuming his rights, the young man

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bowed to the ground, and taking the treasure
departed to his home.

In reward for his honesty, this good man
had a son who became elevated to the rank
of first minister of state. His grandsons were
presidents of the supreme tribunals and mem-
bers of the HAnlin College.

Practise filial piety.

Sia-yoong was gifted with this virtue to an
eminent degree, but lived in extreme poverty.
He one day dreamed that his father had fallen
dangerously ill, and proceeded with all haste on
a journey to see him. As he was passing a
forest by night, a tiger came across the middle
of his path. "I hurry," he exclaimed, without
a moment's delay, "to take care of my father,
who is dangerously sick. Let the tiger devour
me if he will ; I shall proceed without fear."
The beast turned round, dropped his tail, and
departed quietly.

Having reached his father's dwelling, he
found him almost without consciousness; but
at the sight of his son he recovered and said,

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" Son, did you not meet a tiger in your way ?
I dreamed just now, that having gone to an
audience of the magistrate, I saw some stranger,
who told me, * It was a part of your destiny
to die very shortly ; but the rare piety of your
son has reached to heaven, and a tiger whom
he met on his journey abstained from injuring
him. Your age will be prolonged twelve years
from this day.* "*

Rescue those who are in danger,

A certain merchant had attained to
middle age without the good fortune of pos-
sessing children; and, to add to his chagrin,
a skilful physiognomist said to him, "In a
few months from this time a dangerous acci-
dent will happen to you." Our merchant,
who knew of old that this practitioner had an
extraordinary skill in his art, packed up all his
goods and proceeded hastily towards his home.

In the course of his journey by water he

* This illustrates what has been stated in the * Chinese,'
that the reward of parents for the merits of their children
is a part of the moral and political system of the country.

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saw a woman throw herself into the river with
her child. He immediately called some fisher-
men, and promised them twenty ounces of
silver if they would save these two from drown-
ing; the men thereupon flew to their succour
and drew them out of the water. Having
paid these men the promised sum, the merchant
turned to the woman and asked the reason
of her throwing herself into the river. " My
husband," she replied, " is a day-labourer. We
had fattened a pig which he carried to sale
yesterday, but returned home without per-
ceiving that he had been paid in bad money.
His anger was turned against myself, and he
scolded and beat me. We have now nothing
left us to buy food." When he had heard her
story, the merchant gave her twice the value of
her pig, and sent her home.

The woman, on her return, related her ad-
venture to her husband, who would hardly
believe her. However, he proceeded with his
wife to see the merchant and thank him. They
arrived at his lodging after he was retired to
rest. Having knocked at the door, the woman

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cried out, telling him who they were ; and the
merchant went out from his apartment to see
them. No sooner had he quitted his room
than the wall and roof fell in, and crushed
the bed on which he had been lying! The
man and his wife returned home full of sur-
prise and admiration at this occurrence.

The merchant went forthwith to present
himself to the man of destinies, who, when he
had observed him, exclaimed — " I perceive you
have just escaped an imminent danger; but
more — you have entitled yourself to unlooked-
for good fortune: you will have no further
occasion to bewail your want of oflFspring." It
so turned out that the merchant obtained an
heir, who afterwards attained to high distinc-
tion and oflice.

Restrain the evil and exalt the good,

Tsehien having given an entertainment to
his friends, one of his servants purloined some
articles of silver. His master had observed
the theft from behind a bamboo trellis, but
abstained from convicting him. Tsehien soon

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afterwards became promoted to the grade of
minister, and all those who had served him
faithfully obtained appointments of value;
while the individual before mentioned remained
without employ.

*' It is long," said he, *' that I have served
your lordship ; why then do I suffer this dis-
grace T

"Do you remember," replied Tsehien, "that
you robbed me of several articles of silver? I
have been long silent regarding your offence,
and never divulged it to any one. But now it
is my business to ' restrain the evil and advance
the good.' How could I give the aid of my
countenance and credit to one who, like your^
self, has committed a theft? But in pity to
you, and in consideration of your former ser-
vices, I give you three hundred taels.* Take
them and begone !"

* M. Julien seems to haye taken the word Tsien in the
sense of the nominal sum, equal to one hundred copper
Tsien^ while it really means the copper Tsien themselves
(often called Tchen)y which constitute the only coin of China.
It was possible that the master might give the worth of three

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The man was seized with alarm, and shed
abundance of tears. He fell at the feet of
Tsehien, thanked him, and departed.

Be faithful in service.

Towards the end of the Mongol dynasty,
a certain inhabitant of Tongkuan placed him-
self at the head of a party of insurgents. Ho-
chin levied troops to put him down, and pro-
mised to his soldiers that he would give ten
thousand ounces of silver to him who brought
the rebel leader bound into his presence. In
consequence of this notice a slave of the insur-
gent chief brought his own master bound, and
placed him in the power of Hochin. The
latter gave him the reward he sought; but,
at the same time, ordering a cauldron of boil-
ing water to be placed on a car, he caused
the slave who had betrayed his master to be
thrown into it. Thus the car was paraded
among the people, while a crier warned them
not to imitate this servant who had betrayed

hundred ounces of silver to his servant, but not one hun-
dred times that sum, equal to -^ 10,000.

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his master, that they might not share his
punishment.

Forget your resentments.

Under the Ming dynasty, a man of Shang-
kae, by name Chang-koong, had been exiled to
the frontier to perform military service. He
was placed under a chief who had charge of
an important pass ; but one of the inferior of-
ficers took an aversion to him on account of
his love of reading. " Slave that you are," ex-
claimed he, " what have you to do with reading
like your superiors T In this manner he con-
tinued to treat him with a tyrannical harsh-
ness.

Chang-koong subsequently obtained his re-
lease, and in consequence of his learning ob-
tained, after a course of years, the grade of
doctor, and at length became promoted to the
criminal tribunal. His former cruel oppressor,
having been accused of malversation in the de-
partment of supplies, was carried before the
criminal court to be tried. When he per-
ceived Chang-koong he was seized with a mortal

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fright ; but the latter spoke to him with kind-
ness, and desired him to explain his case. He
was at length enabled to give the prisoner his
liberty. This trait of generosity and greatness
of mind in Chang-koong was in conformity
with that precept of Confucius, which says,
" Render good for evil — Pihry and ShoUsy al-
ways forget their old grudges, and had there-
fore few enemies/*

Treat not errors as if they were crimes.

Shunjin was governor of a city of the second
order. Having observed that the public prison
was very full of people, he recommended it to
the criminal judge to release them, after having
applied to each a punishment proportioned to
their offences. " These men," said the judge,
" are mostly traders who have defrauded their
customers — if you set them at liberty they will
repeat the offence." " But what is to be done
with them r inquired ^Atm/iw. "In general,"
replied the other, " they continue in prison, as
the best way of guarding the people from their
practices." " Is it just," exclaimed Shunjin,

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" that those should die in prison whom the law
doth not condemn to death ?"

He immediately summoned all the prisoners
before him, and admonished them severely,
saying, " The judge does not restore you to
liberty because you are incorrigible. He fears
that you will repeat your offences, and be again
committed : but, if you are ready to reform your
conduct, I will release you from confinement."
They all prostrated themselves before him, de-
claring that they should obey his injunctions,
and accordingly were set at liberty. The pri-
soners, rejoiced at gaining their freedom once
more, exhorted each other to reform their pre-
vious courses, and were no longer liable to
punishment. Thus it was that Shunjin dis-
tinguished faults from crimes. The Shooking
says, " When an offence is not very serious, let
the penalty be light." The same authority ob-
serves, " It is better to give liberty to a criminal,
than to imprison an innocent man."

Accusinff another of one's own crime.
In the first year of the reign of Hy-tsoong,

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a certain doctor, named Wonghy, had two ser-
vants, one of whom was clever and cunning,
the other dull and simple. The first of these
having robbed his master of some money, threw
the accusation on his comrade. The doctor
and his son, who filled public stations, gave
themselves no trouble to investigate the case,
but sent the stupid domestic to the magistrate,
that he might be punished, and compelled to
give up the money. His fellownservants, how-
ever, suspected that he was the victim of an
unjust accusation. The clever rogue persisted
in his false testimony ; and the object of his
accusation, being unable to prove his innocence,
was fastened for the night to the bottom of a
high pole, to which was attached a flag ; while
his comrade, who had accused him, was placed
as a guard. During the course of the night,
the pole to which the flag was attached sud-
denly broke in two, and falling on the false
accuser killed him on the spot. The neigh-
bourhood was roused by this event, and on in-
vestigation the innocent simpleton was disco-
vered safe and sound by the side of the other.

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declaring that he had known nothing of the
occurrence. When day returned, they made
search in the chamber of the cunning and false
domestic, and there discovered the sum which
he had purloined, by which means the inno-
cence of his companion was put beyond a doubt.
It may be learned from this, that he who has
committed a crime only aggravates it by throw-
ing the accusation upon other persons.

Killing an enemy who surrenders.

When men give themselves up to a conque-
ror, or render a voluntary submission, from a
reformation in their sentiments, they deserve
praise for the motives which make them revert
to a sense of their duty. When they do so
from the pressure of necessity, we should pity
their distress, aud receive them with kindness.
It would be barbarous absolutely to slay them.
Hence the saying, " There is not a greater
crime than to kill a surrendered enemy," and
" He who kills an enemy that has surrendered
is punished in the third generation."*

* As the Chinese Confucians have no idea of a future

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Ly-kwong^ who put to death eight hundred
Mongols after they had surrendered to him,
failed in obtaining a principality. Under the
Ming dynasty, Hevrtsin faced the snow, and
marched by night to search for the rebels in
their retreats. A certain ofiEicer of government
imagined that he was going to establish his
power by massacring them ; but Heurtsin re-
plied — " The only proper end of military com-
pulsion is to restore peace to the people. I
would not be so inhuman as to build my fame
on the number of heads I had cut off. If I slay
these unfortunates, who are reduced to extre-
mity, and demand their lives, I shall rebel
against Heaven; and he who revolts against
Heaven is deprived of posterity." In this man-
ner eight hundred men escaped the death which
menaced them.

Insulting and oppressing orphans and widows.

A native of Kieshuey took forcible possession
of a field belonging to his nephew, who was

state, they teach that crimes are punished until the third
and fourth generatidn in this world.

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an orphan, and built two pavilions on it. The
nephew did not venture to plead against his
uncle ; he contented himself with burning in-
cense, and denouncing to Heaven the injustice
that he had suffered. A violent storm arose, ac-
companied with thunder and lightning, which
carried off the two pavilions, and restored the
land in its former state to the orphan. The
oppressive uncle remained for some days on his
knees upon the spot before occupied by the pa-
vilions, and could not utter a word. When
speech was restored to him he acknowledged
the magnitude of his crime, and after the lapse
of some time he was seized with sickness, and
died in great torment.

Separating those who are allied as bones and
flesh.

When Yuen-koong lived in his native pro-
vince Shensy^ a troop of brigands suddenly
arose and spread consternation through the
neighbourhood. He lost his only son in these
troubles, and sought an asylum in Keangndn^
with the intention of taking a wife of the se-

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cond order, hoping that he might obtain a son
to succeed him. He purchased a woman of
this kind from her husband for thirty ounces
of silver; but she had no sooner arrived at his
house than she retired to a corner and began
to weep violently. When Yuen-koong de-
manded the reason of this, she replied — " We
were reduced to extreme wretchedness, and
should soon have died of hunger. Seeing that
my husband was ready to put an end to his life
in despair, I offered myself to be sold with a
view to relieve his poverty. I am thinking of
the kindness that he felt for me, and of our
mutual attachment ; this has all vanished in a
day, and I am now obliged to serve a stranger.
Such is the cause of the bitter tears which you
see me shed."

Yuen-kooyig was touched with compassion,
and conducted her back to her former husband,
giving them a hundred ounces of silver to put
them in the way of gaining their living. In
gratitude for this treatment, they formed the
project of seeking a woman who might produce
him a son in lieu of the one he had lost. On

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arriving at Yangchow, they met with some
person who offered to sell a young boy of twelve
years old to anybody who wished to adopt a
son. " Let us purchase him," said they, " and
offer him as an adopted son to our benefactor."
They were told that the boy's price was as
many ounces of silver as he was years' old, and,
his age being twelve years, they gave for him
twelve ounces of silver, and conveyed him to
Ytien-koong. The latter on examining him at-
tentively discovered that he was his own son,
who had been carried off by the brigands!
Such was the reward that awaited Yuen-koong
in return for having united those who were
" allied as bones and flesh."

Unjust extortion.

The riches and goods of this world are ap-
portioned to each by the will of Heaven. He
who acquires them by force or exaction always
brings on himself unforeseen calamities. Chdngy
imperial censor in the province of Szechuen,
one day gave the following narration to a re-
lative of his own : —

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" While on a course of inspection in the pro-
vince of Yunnduy I beheld during the night a
figure clothed in red, which approached me,
saying, * I have long had in charge for you a
sum of money, and awaited your coming with
impatience/ I asked where it might be. The
genius pointed to the bottom of my chair,
where I found a thousand ounces of silver.
'How shall I carry this away?' said I. 'It
shall be conveyed to your dwelling,' replied the
genius; and so saying, disappeared. When I
returned to the capital to render an account of
my mission, I found an old fellow-student who
solicited my good ofiEices in order to procure a
particular situation ; and I made him in return
give me two hundred ounces of silver. On
entering my own house I fell to my prayers
at midnight, and presently saw the same genius
that had before appeared to me — ^but he brought
me but eight hundred ounces of silver. Asking
the reason of this, he replied — ' the sum that
you miss is that which you extorted from your
fellow-student.* I was filled with surprise and
confusion, and thanked the genius for this
lesson."

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An intemperate use of prosperity.

There were two scholars who were born in
the same year, the same month, the same day,
and the same hour, and who likewise attained
at the same time to the grade of doctor. Not
long afterwards, one of them was named lite-
rary intendant of one district, and his friend
of another. Presently the one died, and the
other officiated at his funeral. The survivor
thus apostrophised the deceased as he stood be-
fore his coffin, — " The same hour gave both of
us birth, and we were natives of the same
countiy; having thus entered life together,
what is the reason that we are now parted?
If my prayer can reach you, I entreat that
you will appear and answer me in dreams."

On the following night he dreamt that his
brother intendant appeared to him, and said,
" It was my own lot to be bom in a high and
opulent family. I early enjoyed all the ad-
vantages that accompany rank and fortune, and
as I had soon used them up, my death was
premature. If you survive me, the reason is

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that your early condition was poor and obscure ;
you have not yet enjoyed the full sum of the
good allotted to you by destiny."

A man dies as soon as he has consumed the
allotment of good assigned to him ; since the
sum of our prosperous fortunes is previously
fixed by fate. If a man expends the revenue
of many days in one, he will have nothing left
for to-morrow. Therefore it is said that by
the moderate enjoyment of good, a man pro-
longs the date of his life. (The object of this
apologue is to teach a virtue constantly incul-
cated in China, — moderation.)

Forgetting the old for the new.

He who forgets his old connexions for new
ones, proves that he has no real attachment to
any thing, nor any sentiment of justice. Under
the reign of Tien-shun there was a certain
officer named Maleang^ for whom the emperor
had a great regard. His wife having died, the
sovereign daily addressed to him some expres-
sions of condolence ; but Mahangy in the mean
while, ceased in a short time to appear at the

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court. The emperor expressed his surprise.
Having learned at length, through some of
those who surrounded him, that the officer
had just taken a new wife, his anger was
roused. "Since," said the emperor, "this des-
picable man has shown so little respect for his
first wife, there is no chance of his serving his
master faithfully." Accordingly he condemned
Maleang to the bastinade, and banished him
for ever.

To think one thing^ and say another.

A certain president of the board of civil
appointments was well acquainted with the
good or evil qualities of all the officers; but
in public praised them all indiscriminately.
When it came, however, to recommending
them for employment or promotion, he changed
his language, and, on his presentation list, most
of those whom he had before praised did not
appear. A Mandarin who had the privilege
of approaching the emperor, indignant at this
revolting inconsistency, presented a report
wherein he proved by numerous facts that the

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president sought only to obtain influence, and
to enrich himself by corrupt gifts, as the price
of promotion. The emperor stripped him of
his ill-got fortune, and condemned him to be
degraded from his high office.

Coveting riches and obtaining them by fraud.

TsaoU'hdn being charged with the duty of
putting down the rebels in the south, acquired
a mass of wealth which amounted to many
thousand ounces of silver. He presently ad-
dressed a request to the emperor, in which he
stated that "he entertained a wish to build a
temple to Budha, in the district of Yingchow.
That he had seen on the mountain* Leushdn
a temple called Tung^linrsze, which contained
five hundred little images of the saints of
Budhism; and that he wished to carry these
with him." The emperor assented to his de-
mand, and he accordingly toot a public vessel
of transport and embarked on it the chests con-
taining the treasures which he had amassed,

♦ See a subsequent chapter, for a description of this place.

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taking care to place in the upper part of each
the images of Budha. Those concerned in the
carriage of the same supposed that these images
formed the entire cargo.

Some time after this, Tsaou-hdn was ap-
pointed general, with the title of Tseangkeun.
He now pillaged openly the people whom it
was his duty to protect : but his criminal pro-
ceedings were denounced by another public
officer. The emperor stripped him of all his
wealth, and sent him to die in exile ; while his
sons and grandsons were reduced to wander
as beggars through the empire.

Practising on simple people.

In the first year of the reign of Wan^-leih
three men who were travelling together arrived
at a river, but the only boat by which they
could cross it was fastened to the opposite bank.
One of them, who was a simpleton, was desired
by the two others to swim across and bring the
boat over. He accordingly put oflF his clothes
and jumped into the water, and the stream
running very strong, was nearly drowned for

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his pains. At last he reached the boat, and
brought it back for his two companions.
These, however, when he wanted them to wait
until he fetched his garments, pushed ojff from
shore, crying out, " It is too late, we cannot
wait for you." But just as they reached the
opposite bank, the impetuosity of the stream
urged the boat with such violence against the
steep shore, that she bilged and sank. The
two men were drowned, while their companion
remained safe and sound on the other side.

Ill-treatment of a wife.

Sze-t'hang, having attained to the grade of
doctor, repented him that he had not espoused
the daughter of an illustrious and opulent
family. From this time he treated his wife
with profound disdain; while she became so
much chagrined at such undeserved contumely
as to fall very sick. He, however, would not
so much as look at her, which made her case
desperate; and as her last hour approached
she addressed him, saying, " I shall die ! Are
you so hard-hearted as still to refuse me one

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kind look." He, however, refused to take any
notice of his wife.

When she died he began to entertain some
feelings of uneasiness; and, as a precaution
against her coming back to trouble him, he
covered up her face, tied her hands, and did his
best to make her secure before burying her.
On the following night, however, the ojffended
spirit appeared in a dream to her father, saying
" You married me to a worthless man. During
life he treated me with nothing but anger and
hatred, and after I am dead he places my body
in fetters. For this conduct to your daughter,
heaven will deprive him of life." Sze-t'hang
accordingly died the following year.

Treating ancestors with disrespect.

Disrespect to ancestors implies delaying their
obsequies, or performing them contrary to the
prescribed rites. It also refers to shortening
the proper period of mourning, neglecting to
visit and repair the tombs, or oflfering sacrifices
to the manes without due veneration. Some

VOL. !• M

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lay hold on the pretext that the foong^shuey*
is not propitious ; others, that the period of the
year, or the month, is not favourable; others
again, that the place of sepulture is ill-chosen.
After the remains have been committed to the
earth,f some persons transport them repeatedly
to other spots. When the spring period is
arrived, they just go once to visit and repair the
tombs ; but for six months, or the whole year
besides, they trouble themselves no more about
the matter, than if the graves were placed in
an inaccessible desert. To some, when they
visit the places of sepulture, it is a pretext for
roving about and amusing themselves with
their friends, and they sometimes return over-
come with wine. All this implies contempt
for the memory and the shades of one's ances-
tors.

Koong-heuen having lost his only surviving
parent in his mother, arrived, after several
grades of promotion, at the oifice of keeper of
the archives. He returned some time afterwards

♦ c

Chinese,' p. 136. t Ibid., p. 297.

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THE " BOOK OF REWARDS,** ETC. 243

to liis native place, and oflfered a sacrifice at her
tomb. His mother appeared to him in a dream,
and reproached him for his past neglect.
" Since you abandoned me/' said she, " the wild
animals have undermined the place of burial,
and thorns and brambles have choked up the
path to it. You have entrusted to two women
the performance of the oblations which should
have come from yourself. The god of the
lower regions would have punished you, but as
you perform faithfully the duties of your pre-
sent office, he defers it, that you may endea-
vour from this time to repair your past neg-
lect."

. Losing time in unprofitable occupations.

The emperor Seuen-tsoong of the Ming race
once invited Hoong-foo to see a theatrical enter-
tainment. He replied that he did not love such
exhibitions. Another time, when the emperor
desired him to play at chess, he said he did
not understand it. "How is that?" inquired
the emperor. " In my childhood," said he, "my
father rigidly forbade me every sort of game.

M 2

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He taught me solely to study books, and would
not let me learn anything unprofitable." Many
men have no other object than to enjoy the
pleasure of a moment; and yet, m the most
useless pursuits, they make as much use of their
faculties as in the most important. They con-
sume their fortune^ contract maladies, and com-
mit the gravest crimes. Add to this, that
most of the pursuits of life vanish and leave
no trace : but he who does what is useful to
mankind will accomplish endless good. If you
have talents, explain the ancient books, or
make compilations of useful information. If
you have wealth and power, repair wells and
roads, construct dykes and bridges, establish
granaries, sepultures, and places of education.
All this is useful to mankind ; and what is use-
ful to mankind cannot fail to be useful to your-
self.

Note. — It must be admitted that the foregoing are,
many of them, excellent specimens of moral sentiment,
though occasionally conveyed in whftt may strike ns as
a quaint or trifling manner.

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245

CHAPTER IX.

Enter the Canal — Extends seven degrees of latitude —
Dragon robes — Military features — Flood-gates— Highest
point of Canal — The dragon king — ^Town of Tse-ning-
chow — Unhealthy tract — Immense inundations — En-
ter Kecmgndn — Improvement of country — Preparation
for sacrifice — Crossing the Yellow river — Frozen in win-
ter — Shooting the sluices— Chinese horses — Temple to
empress-mother — Curious maxims of government — Boats
lashed in pairs — A city below the Canal — Paou-ying-
hien and lake — Fishing-birds — The lofty and bright tem^-
pie — Change of boats — Sacred fish — Winter cap adopted
by Kinchae.

Early on the 23rd September we entered
the Canal through two stone piers, and be-
tween very high banks. The mounds of earth
in the immediate vicinity were evidently for
the purpose of effecting repairs, which, to judge
from the vestiges of inundation on either side,
could not be infrequent. The canal joins the
Eu-ho, which we had just quitted, on its right
or eastern bank, as that river flows towards
the Pdho. One of the most striking features

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of the canal is the comparative clearness of its
water, when contrasted with that of the two
rivers on which we had hitherto travelled ; a
circumstance reasonably attributable to the
depositions occasioned by the greater stillness
of its contents.

Whatever the course of the canal might
become hereafter, it was, at this commencing
point, evidently in the bed of a natural river,
as might be perceived from its winding course,
and the irregularity, and inartificial appearance
of its banks. The stone abutments and flood-
gates are for the purpose of regulating its wa-
ters, which at present were in excess, and flow-
ing out of it. As lAntsingchow, where the
canal commences, is just under the thirty-
seventh parallel of latitude, and Hdngchowfoo,
where it terminates, is nearly in SO*", the direct
distance is about five hundred English miles,
without allowing for windings. It is the
channel not only of subsistence, but of all
kinds of tribute to Peking, in a country where
so lai^e a portion of the revenue is paid in
kind. We observed, on the first day of our

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DRAGON ROBES. 247

voyage on its waters, a large junk decorated
with a yellow umbrella, and, on inquiring,
found that it had the honour of bearing the
" Dragon robes," as the emperor s garments are
designated. These are forwarded annually,
and are the peculiar tribute of the silk dis-
tricts.

As we proceeded on the canal, the stone
flood-gates or sluices occurred at the rate of
three or four a-day, sometimes oftener, accord-
ing as the inequalities in the surface of the
country rendered them necessary. The change
from uniform flatness to something of variety
was a great relief, and on the 24th some blue
mountains were hailed by us in the direction of
south and east In the afternoon we came in
sight of the large city of Tunchangfoo,
which appeared to be well built, extensive, and
populous, with high walls within the suburbs.
After sailing and tracking along these for a
distance of some two miles, we passed nearly
a mile beyond the city, and were received by
an extended line of soldiers, who, in addition to
their arms and accoutrements, each carried a

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lantern tied to his spear or matchlock. This
military feature, however, was still less
amusing than certain watch-towers that had
been lately remarked, formed entirely of mats,
which were painted to imitate brick or stone.
This was so completely " playing at soldiers,"
as to afford a most unequivocal proof of the
unwarlike habits of the nation.

If these things excited some merriment, our
compassion was moved by the miserable con-
dition of the trackers who had been pressed for
the service of our boats. They looked as if
the whole province had been ransacked for its
beggars, including all shapes of misery. Some
of them were diseased, and others with scarcely
a rag to cover them ; and in a country where
even the lower orders are decently and neatly
dressed, more so than in Europe generally,
they presented a strong contrast to the rest of
the population.

I observed that as we receded from the neigh-
bourhood of Peking, the mandarins had be-
come more frequent and less reserved in their
visits, very readily accepting any presents that

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ATTENTIONS PAID TO THE MISSION. ' 249

were made them. It was extremely desirable
to conciliate them by civilities and trifling gifts,
and the only point to be attended to, was the
grade and rank of the persons who were ad-
mitted to visit the ambassador. The attentions
paid to the mission at Tungchangfoo were
rather more than common, in the decoration
of the landing-places, the profusion of lights,
,and the number of soldiers, with their tents
pitched near the anchorage of the boats. We
had several times remarked that, on the ropes
which enclosed the ground in the vicinity of
our boats, small bells were suspended, which
by their noise gave immediate intimation of any
intruder into the taboo'd precincts.

As we advanced, the canal in some parts
became narrower, and the banks had rather
more of an artificial appearance than where we
first entered it, being occasionally pretty high ;
but still the winding course led to the infer-
ence, that as yet the caiial was for the most
part only a natural river, modified and regu-
lated by sluices and embankments. The dis-
tance between the stone-piers in some of the

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flood-gates was apparently so narrow as only
just to admit of the passage of our largest boats.
The contrivance for arresting the course of the
water through them was extremely simple.
Stout boards, with ropes fastened to each end,
were let down edgewise over each other
through grooves in the stone-piers. A number
of soldiers and workmen always attended at the
sluices, and the danger to the boats in passing
was diminished by coils of rope being hung
down at the sides to break the force of blows.

The slowness of our progress, which for the
last week averaged only twenty miles a day,
gave us abundant leisure to observe the country.
Its appearance continued to improve, with di-
versified surface and clumps of trees amidst the
cultivation. The cotton shrub, tobacco, hemp,
and various grains, as wheat and sesamum, ap-
peared to be the things chiefly grown. Indeed the
great quantity of cotton which we saw during
our journey, seemed to prove that the impor-
tations from India must form a very incon-
siderable portion of the consumption of this
vast empire, in which the whole of the inferior

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ORNAMENTED LANDING-PLACES. 251

orders are universally clothed in cotton gar-
ments.

September 26. — ^When we stopped in the
afternoon at a place called GansJianchin^ there
were ornamented landing-places (called MatoWy
* horses' heads/) erected from our boats to the
shore. The following sentences were inscribed
over them — " The power of the Tartar dynasty
is universal;" — "The winds regular and the
rains favourable." The latter sentence is fre-
quently used by the Chinese, and expresses the
advantages resulting from general peace and
submission. I observed, on referring to the
Jesuits' travels in this part of the country, that
the mountains of Shcmtung to the eastward of
us must be very high, as goitre* are mentioned
to be frequent among the population of the
valleys.

We now began to make better progress on
the canal than we had hitherto done. The
stream, though against us, was not strong, ex-
cept near the sluices, where it was confined. As
the month of September drew to a close, the
weather became cloudy and cold to a remark-

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252 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

able degree, considering our latitude. A strong
northerly wind and rain brought the thermo-
meter in our boats down to sixty degrees in the
morning.

In the afternoon we stopped at a place called
Kaeho Chin. The last word signifies a mi-
litary station, or "corps de garde," and the
first two syllables imply " the opening or com-
mencement of the river," which led to the in-
ference that this must have been the point from
whence the canal was begun ; an opinion ren-
dered still more probable by our vicinity to the
highest point, whence the current runs down
north and south in opposite directions.

At Kaeho Chin a large party of us went
on shore, and took a long walk through the
adjoining village. The great stone rollers*
used by the Chinese for pressing the grain from
the husk, or for levelling the newly-ploughed
ground, appeared to be of black marble with
white veins ; but the stone of which the piers

* The Jesuits say, " We observed marble rollers, like
portions of columns, which they drag over the fields to level
them.'*

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HIGHEST POINT OF THE CANAL, 253

are constructed had a siliceous appearance^ and

broke like flint. The neighbouring hiUs must

no doubt supply an abundance of stone. A

famous mountain of Shantung is called by the

Chinese Taeshany and is probably the highest

of the range.

On the 28th we arrived at the influx of

the TTwn-Ao, where the stream turned in our

favor, and flowed- to the southward, being the

highest point of the canal, and a place of some

note. The Wun-ho flows into the canal on

its eastern side nearly at right angles, and a

part of it going to the north, the other part

runs southward ; while a strong facing of stone

on the western bank of the canal sustains the

i
force of the influx. This seems to have been

the work of Soonglyy who lived under the first
emperor of the Ming dynasty, at the end of
the 14th century.

In his time a part of the canal in Shantung
province became so impassable, that the coast-
ing passage by sea began to be most used. This
was the very thing that the canal had been in-
tended to prevent; )Soo;i^Zy accordingly adopted

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the plan of an old man, named Peying, a re-
sident in that part of the country, to concen-
trate the waters of the Wun-ho and neighbour-
ing streams, and bring them down upon the
canal as they are at present. History states
that Soongly employed " three hundred thou-
sand" men to carry the plan into operation,
and that the work was completed in two hun-
dred days.

On both sides of us, nearly level with the
canal, were extensive swamps with a shallow
covering of water, which the Chinese dignify
with the name of Hoo, * lakes,' and which they
plant extensively with the Nelumbiumy useful
for its roots and seeds. These were occasion-
ally separated from us by very narrow banks,
along which the trackers walked, and the width
of the canal sometimes did not exceed five-and-
twenty yards. The boatmen paid their devo-
tions with great assiduity at the temple of
Loong^wong, "the dragon king," sometimes
called Hae-wong^ who presides over the watery
element. A deputation from each boat burned
incense, while the priests went through certain

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THE DRAGON KING. 255

mysteries with the accompaniment of the gong
(which the Chinese gods have the bad taste
to like), and the whole ceremony was concluded
with an offering of some cash. These small
contributions must amount to something where
the traflSic is so great ; for, as the Chinese pro-
verb says, Tsdh shaou ching to, " Accumulated
littles make much."

In the afternoon we reached the neighbour-
hood of Tse^ing Chow, a town* of consider-
able dimensions. Here was the best show of
soldiers that we had yet seen, drawn up to re-
ceive us. In number they were about two
hundred and fifty, but being in very open rank
they made the greater show. In addition to the
usual proportion of archers and matchlock-men,
we observed some armed with halberds, and
others with a sort of short scythe on a pole.
As usual, they reminded me more of a chorus
at the opera, than men whose trade was slaugh-
ter. We seemed to be treated with more dis-
tinction as we advanced to the southward. The

♦ The Foo might be named cities; the Chow, towns;
and the Hien, burghs.

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256 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

ma-tow, or platforms, before the principal boats
had ornamental gateways over them. An im-
mense population was collected to stare at us,
and during dinner-time appeared quite absorbed
by curiosity to view our band and the party at
table with open windows. After dinner we
some of us proceeded with the ambassador to
take a walk along the banks of the canal. An
orderly of the guard proved very useful in keep-
ing off the crowd, who however were quiet and
well behaved.

The night proved extremely cold, from the
vicinity of so much flooded land, and the ap-
pearance, among some of our people, of the
ague, from which I had just recovered, proved
the insalubrity of the country we were passing
through. After I had retired to rest, one of
the military mandarins, our conductors, with
a blue button and peacock's feather, came to
visit me, but I begged to be excused at that
untimely hour.

As we did not proceed on our way until late
on the morning of the 29th, an opportunity
was afforded for surveying the suburbs of

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IMMENSE INUNDATIONS. 257

Tse-ning ChoWy whose appearance surpassed
what we had yet seen in that way. The canal
seems to render this an opulent and flourishing
place, to judge by the gilded and carved shops,
temples, and public offices, along the eastern
banks. Soon after quitting the neighbourhood
of the town, we for the first time saw two
boatsful of the fishing birds, but nothing would
induce the fellows in the boats to come nearer
for close inspection ; we had abundant oppor-
tunities, however, of observing them afterwards.
The canal in this part was a little raised above
the level of the extensive marshes on each side,
which were mostly under water.

On the 30th the swamps increased rapidly,
until the whole country, as far as the eye could
reach, displayed the effects of a most extensive
recent inundation. The waters were on a
level with those of the canal, and there was
no need of dams, which were themselves nearly
under water; and we occasionally observed
sluices at the sides of the canal for discharging
the superfluity. Clumps of large trees, cot-
tages, and towers, were to be seen on all sides

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258 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

half under water, and deserted by the inha-
bitants. The number of these towers led to
the inference that they were provided as places
of refuge in case of inundation, which must
here be very frequent. Wretched villages oc-
curred frequently on the righfr-hand bank,
along which the tracking path was in some
places so completely undermined with water,
as to give way at every step. Hurdles of reeds
were often laid down to afford a passage to the
feet.

On reaching that part of the canal which
skirts or passes through a lake called Tou-shan
HoOy the left bank was entirely submerged,
and the canal confounded with the lake. All
within range of the eye was swamp, and cold-
ness, and desolation — in fact a vast inland sea,
as many of the large boats at a distance were
hull dowfiy or invisible except the masts. We
were here at no great distance from Kea^fow
Hieriy the birth-place of the sage Confucius,
lying on our left, to whose honor we saw a
temple erected, with a school or college for
students, shortly before we reached the lake

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IMMENSE INUNDATIONS. 259

just mentioned. A chain of mountains was
visible at a considerable distance on the south-
east.

The swamps on the following day were
kept out of sight by some very decent villages
on the high banks, which, from perpetual accu-
mulation, assumed in some places the aspect of
hills. After breakfast I walked for about an
hour and a half with Lord Amherst, and came
to that point of the canal where it is crossed
at right angles by a river, which is therefore
called Shg'tsze-Ho, or "Cross river," styled
in Barrow's map " the four rivers," where the
course is cut through a low hill to the depth of
thirty feet. We soon afterwards came again
in sight of the dreary marshes, continuing to
infest our course as far as the Yellpw river,
where we were to arrive in about five days.

We were informed that on reaching Yang-
chow foOy or rather Kwa-choWy where the
Yang-tsze-keang crosses the canal, we were to
turn to the right, up that mighty stream, and
proceed in a south-westerly direction towards
Canton, until we reached the Poyang Lake,

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260 SKETCHES OP CHINA.

which we were to cross. This intelligence
proved a source of considerable satisfaction, as
the whole course of the Yang-tsze-keangwsLSun-
trodden ground ; besides which, this new route
would afford us an opportunity of viewing
Nanking, the ancient capital of the empire.

A part of our journey on the first of October
lay along a portion of the canal where the
banks, particularly to the right, were elabor-
ately and strongly faced with stone; a pre-
caution which seemed to imply a greater than
ordinary danger from inundations. In fact
the lakes, or rather floods, seemed to exteni
at present nearly to the feet of the mountains
which lay at a distance on our left. We were
now approaching that part of China which is
exposed to the disastrous overflowings of the
Yellow river; perpetual sources of wasteful
expenditure to the government, and of peril
and calamity to the people. So incurable,
indeed, have been the destructive sallies of this
great stream, and so useless is it (from its
violence) for the purpose of internal inter-
course, that it well deserves the name of China's

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REPAIRS OF THE BANKS. 261

Sorrow. The European trade at Canton has
heen heavily taxed for it.

We observed the repairs of the banks dili-
gently proceeding under the superintendence of
the proper officers. For this purpose they
use the natural soil in combination with the
thick reedy stalks of the kaou leang, or gigantic
millet^ of which the harvest had not long since
been completed. This appears to be the mode
in which tJie Yellow river is checked and con-
fined throughout its boundaries in this part
of China. The Wei-chang JIoo, or lake
through which the canal might be said to
run, when we passed on the second, mingled
its waters with our stream, the piers being
nearly submerged ; and we were carried along
with such rapidity, that the only thing required
was to guide and check our barges. This was
done by taking ashore a small anchor from
each boat, with which a man ran along the
bank, and occasionally brought up the vessel's
head by striking the fluke of the anchor in the
ground, while we floated down stern fore-
most.

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262 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

We were glad to quit the southern boun-
dary of the province of Shantungy ravaged as
it had been by the late inundations, and to
reach the frontier of Keangndn, which we did
on the evening of the second, at a place called
Ta-urh chen, where a long rank of soldiers
with lanterns was drawn out, and the ambassa-
dor was received with the usual salute of three
guns. The actual viceroy of Keangndn and
Keang sy, (or, as the Chinese call them, " the two
Keangs,") was Pih Tajin, formerly viceroy at
Canton, and a bitter enemy of the English at
that place. It was rumoured that he was to
meet the embassy shortly in person ; though
there was every reason to suppose that the
compliment was not intended for the ambassa-
dor, but for our conductor the legate.

The treasurer, or Poaching sze of Shantung,
who had the charge of our supplies since the
judge quitted us, came to pay his farewell visit
to the ambassador. He was more pleasing and
well-bred in his manners than any of his pre-
decessors, and appeared to avoid the subject of
our quarrel with the emperor, from a true

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IMPROVEMENT OF COUNTRY. 263

sense of politeness. Nothing would induce
him to accept any presents, and the reason he
gave for this was the danger of misrepresenta-
tion. It had been invariably found that
the military Mandarins were more willing to
accept gifts than the civil, which might be
explained on two grounds: first, that they
were probably poorer than the civil function-
aries ; secondly, that their offices and charges
were of less weight and importance, and ren-
dered them less liable to the suspicion of cor-
ruption than the others. We were to be now
under the charge of the treasurer of Keang-
ndn; while the legate, our grand conductor,
seemed to concern himself less immediately
about us, showing in this respect a disposition
and manners very different from Soong Tajin,
the amiable and enlightened legate during the
mission of Lord Macartney.

In Keangndn we daily found the country
growing more beautiful, better cultivated, and
in all respects more interesting. We were
soon nearly surrounded by picturesque hills in
the distance. Our very trackers displayed the

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264 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

superior riches and prosperity of the province
just entered upon, being clad in a uniform of
blue and red, resembling that of the soldiers.
During two preceding days, we had no occa-
sion for any tracking, but dropped down with the
stream stem foremost, in the manner before
described, for the convenience of bringing up
by the head without swinging. As the stream
was now less rapid, we proceeded with trackers
in the usual manner.

About midnight on the fourth of October
we came to an anchor near Sootsien Hien, on
the western bank of the canal. It is curious
to observe, in the itinerary of four Jesuits who
passed up this way, on their journey to Peking,
more than a century and a half ago, this place
described just as it exists at present. " Cette ville
est sur une petite eminence ; les muraiUes en sont
a demi ruinees ; chacun de ses deux faubourgs
vaut mieux que la ville. Nous vimes proche
des murs une espece de palais nouvellement
bati. C'est un monument en Thonneur de
I'empereur Cang-hy, qui passa par cette ville
en allant a Soo-chow. La principale partie de

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PREPARATION FOR SACRIFICE. 265

cet edifice est une esp^ce de salon quarre, ob-
long, ouvert de tons cotes, k double toit,
convert de briques vernissees de jaune."

As the country was now becoming more flat,
we found the sluices in this part of the canal
much less frequent, and on the fifth of October
passed through only one of them. From
Sootsiefi Hien to the point of junction with
the Yellow river, a length of about fifty miles,
that great stream and the canal run nearly
parallel with each other, at an average distance
of four or five miles, and sometimes much
nearer. As this was the season which the
Chinese call " mid-autumn," (choong-tsew), the
crews of our different boats had dressed up the
shrines of their idols, and placed offerings be-
fore them of diflferent kinds. The approaching
operation of crossing the Yellow river, at all
times considered as formidable, had occasioned
our being abundantly stocked with live cocks,
destined to be sacrificed in crossing the river.
These troublesome and noisy birds plagued us
so incessantly by their crowing on the top of
the boat, that we looked forward with some

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366 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

impatience to tlie event which was to consign
diem to everlasting silence. The boatmen
sent us red paper petitions^ (called Pin, a word
which has lately been discussed within the
house of commons,) begging for aid in enabling
them to provide the needful supplies.

Our boats on the sixth proceeded with great
rapidity, having both the wind and the stream
in their favour. I walked on shore for about
half an hour, and was obliged to keep up a
good round pace to avoid being left far behind.

About noon we reached a place called
Yang-kea Ckudng, not many hundred yards
from the spot where the canal joins the Yellow
river. On our left was a stream called the Sin*
yen-hoy or "New salt river," communicating
probably with the sea to the north-eastward,
about sixty miles distant from this spot. On
our right we had for several days be«i very
close to the Yellow river, which just before
this point of junction with the canal, suddenly
turns north-eastward to the sea, after having
run in a south-easterly direction for some hun-
dred miles.

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CROSSING THE YELLOW RIVER. 267

After passing a considerable time at anchor,
during whicli interval some of the principal
mandarins visited the ambassador, we all
weighed and prepared to cross the Hoangho.
From the inflated accounts of former visitors
we were led to expect something very uncom-
mon, and even hazardous ; we were, therefore,
almost disappointed on finding the passage to
be comparatively easy. The water, however,
was most profusely charged with soil, and its
colour ftdly entitled it to the name which it
bears in reference to that circumstance. The
depositions of mud at its embouchure must be
enormously great, and calculated, at no distant
period, to shut up its communication with the
8ea> or at least greatly to elevate its level inland.
It is to this circumstance that the increasing
difficulties must be attributed of restraining its
destructive inundations.

The river in this part appeared to be about
two-thirds of a mile across, and certainly a
fine stream from its breadth ; but as regarded
the vessels on its surface, or the appearance of
its banks, which were low, and scattered with

n2

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268 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

wretched mud hovels, by no means a beautiful
or remarkable object. A much finer awaited
us yet in the Ydngtse-keang. We observed
some vessels constructed exactly in the form of
oblong boxes, calculated to draw the least pos-
sible depth of water. These were laden with
the straw or stalk of the gigantic millet, ready
to be transported to different parts of the river
and canal for the repair of the banks.

The stream was excessively violent, and car-
ried us down a considerable way before we
could reach the opposite bank ; but the worst
was yet to come in passing through a sluice,
on the outside of which the water, confined in
its passage between the abutments, raged in the
most violent manner, forming eddies which
sucked down large floating substances. The
two projections, which formed this great open-
ing of nearly a hundred yards wide, were not
constructed of stone, but of the perishable
stalks of millet already mentioned, combined
with earth, and strongly bound together with
cordage. This construction may perhaps di-
minish the dangers from striking ; but we in-

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YELLOW RIVER FROZEN IN WINTER. 269

curred little risk, the boats being drawn forward
against the violent current by means of ropes
or cables, hove in by capstans worked on the
bank ; and in this manner we were all dragged
through the sluice, and against a fall of about
two feet, without any accident.

The Jesuits who crossed here in the year
1687, during the month of January, state that
it took them the whole day, in consequence of
the ice, which it was necessary to break
through, and the floating accumulations which
retarded their passage. The freezing of so
rapid a stream as the Yellow river indicates a
very extreme degree of cold ; and if such be the
case in latitude 33|^ it must be much more
severe at Peking, in latitude 40°. To us the
whole scene of the passage was most interest-
ing. The difficulties which the Chinese, with
their defective science, must have struggled
through, in this junction of the canal with the
Hoangho, are incalculable, and it is impossible
to deny them the praise of the highest perse-
verance and industry.

Could the science of a Brunei be admitted

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270 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

to operate on those two great sources of trouble
and expense to the Chinese empire (the Yellow
river, and the canal), a benefit might be con-
ferred that would more than compensate for
all the evil that we have inflicted with our
opium and our guns. There exists nowhere
in the world a finer field for the ex^cise of
profound science and engineering ability. To
the imperfect knowledge which the Chinese
possess of hydrostatics and geometry must be
attributed the perpetually recurring inundations
which devastate the southern parts of Shan-
tung, and the north of Keangndn.

Some considerable change had evidently
taken place at the intersection of the canal with
the river since the passage of Lord Macartney's
embassy. It was plain to us all that after
crossing the Hoangho we did not re-enter im-
mediately into the canal, but that the waters,
which rushed with such impetuosity through
the sluice into which we entered, were dis-
charged from a neighbouring lake to the 3. W.,
called Hoongtse Hoo. This was confirmed on
the following morning, as we suddenly quitted

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SHOOTING THE SLUICES. 271

the stream along which we had travelled for
some hours> and turned off into the canal. It
was probable that this was a temporary expe-
dient, consequent on the unusual inundations
of the past season.

On the 7th the ambassador and commission-
ers went on shore at the Kinchae's invitation^
and proceeded in chairs to a tent erected on
the bank, for the purpose of waiting until our
boats had shot through a rather dangerous
sluice. After some little discussion with the
Chinese on the subject of precedence (upon
this rather public occasion in conspectu clcissis),
the whole party sat down in the tent, while
the boats were coming up to the point of
danger. The legate offered us a breakfast, but
this was declined. After a short conversation,
the ambassador proposed that we should walk
out and view the boats passing through the
sluice, to which the Kinchae readily agreed.
We stood close to the edge of the stone pier%
between which the water rushed with great
velocity, as the construction of the passage was
equal just to the breadth of a single boat, and

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273 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

the fall of water not less than two or three
feet. All this might have been prevented by a
couple of flood-gatesy and the passage, instead
of being really hazardous, rendered perfectly
safe and easy : but here, as on some other occa*
sions, the Chinese are quite primitive and inar-
tificial. It was really a very curious and pretty
sight, to view the large boats shooting through
between the abutments with a momentum
which carried them, like a ship when launched,
several hundred yards without the aid of sail
or oar. They were managed with very great
dexterity, and not a single accident occurred
to our whole fleet.

Soon after the boats had passed, it was pro*
posed that we should proceed some way further
down on the bank, and meet them at a conve-
nient spot for embarkation; but before Lord
Amherst and the commissioners entered their
chairs, his lordship requested that the other
gentlemen should be provided with horses.
Though the reply was that no horses were to be
had, there were evidently plenty on the outside
of the tent, and some of our party accordingly

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. CHINESE HORSES. 278

helped themselves, and rode oflF to the place of
rendezvous. Of all possible varieties of the
animal, the Chinese horse is the most wretched
and the lowest bred ; and this seems to have
been its character a century and a half ago —
probably from the very first. The peculiar
economy of the Chinese entirely banishes the
larger domestic quadrupeds, or starves those
which are kept. One of the early Jesuits ob-
serves — " We did not meet with a single flock
of sheep on our land journey, but several of
goats, and of black pigs ; few oxen or bufl&iloes,
a number of little mules, asses, and bad horses^
which are the ordinary conveyance of travellers
— we did not see one tolerably good horse."

On arriving at the place of embarkation, we
proceeded on the voyage, but stopped in the
afternoon at a spot called Sanckd, or '* the
third sluice," that is, the third from the Yellow
river. Our attention was presently attracted
by a very handsome building on the other side
of the canal, and I went over with a party to
inspect it. This new and really elegant temple
was dedicated to the reigning emperor s mother,

n3

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874 8K8TCHB8 OP CHDIA.

and therefore called Neangneang Meaau, —
'^Our Lady's Shrine.* In front was a Pae-
law, or honorary gateway, on the entablature <^
which was inscribed the name of the boilding.
The roof of the temple was coyered with yellow
Tarnished tiles, and the walls coloured red. A
small statue of the old ^npress, clothed in yel*
low, was placed in the sanctum sanctorum, and
in galleries on the outside of this were all kinds
of guardian deities — ** Omnigenumque Dedm
monstra." At the entrance stood a great figure
of Loongwong, " the dragon king,** (or as he
is sometimes styled Hm shin,) keq>ing guard
with his sword drawn. His peculiar office was
no doubt to control the waters of the canal,
and prevent their drowning the image of the
old empress.

He has, however, a particular connexion
with Chinese royalty. The word Loong is
applied as an epithet to most things pertaining
to the emperor. Loong-weiy " the dragon-
seat,** is the imperial throne. The dragon is
the badge, or coat of arms, affixed to his books
and his standards. In this temple we observed

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TEMPLE TO BMPRBSS-MOTHER. 275

that, in the apartment containing the empress
mother d figure^ the ornamented beams were
covered with dragons richly gilt on a light blue
ground. To render the apotheosis of the old
}ady complete, a pagodarshaped vessel of bronze
contained incense, which one of the priests
informed me was kept perpetually burning.
There was nothing inconsistent in this ; if the
Chinese regard their emperor as the " son of
heaven/' his mother must of course be con-
sidered as the wife, or the queen of heaven.

With all this, however, it is very remarkable
tliat they have maxims and allusions which
would seem to make the emperor only subordi-
nate to his people. An ancient writer com-
pares him to a fish in water — '^ the water can
do without the fish; but the fish cannot do
without the water.'* In like manner it is said
that '' the Son of heaven was established for the
sake of the world; the world was not esta*
blished for his sake." Again, it was the re-
mark of an ancient emperor himself, that '' the
sovereign is a splendid vessel floating on the
water; but the water which supports it can

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276 SKETCHES OP CHINA.

also overwhelm it" The consideration of these
wholesome maxims has no doubt tended greatly
to temper and mitigate Chinese despotism.

Their books say of government, that " whert
the people in all quarters have a sufficiency^
the nation will enjoy tranquillity; when the
government is liberally conducted, and exer-
cises clemency, plots will be prevented ; but if
oppressive, it becomes impossible to exterminate
plots." At the same time, the theory of the
constitution is perfectly despotic, as appean^
from the following comparison : — " The em-
peror is a charioteer — ^the ministers of the court
are his hands — the officers below them are the
reins — ^the laws are the bits — ^and punishments
the lash." Dr. Morrison, who quotes this in
his dictionary, observes that we likewise talk of
'* the reins of government."

On having quitted the interesting spot above
described, we found the fall of water at this
third sluice fully as great as at the former ones^
proving that the level of the country was de-
scending as we proceeded towards the Yang-
tiiekeang. Early on the morning of the 8th we

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BOATS 'LASHED IN PAIRS. 277

found ourselves at Tsing-keang-poo, a consi-
derable town, thougli not classed under any of
the three denominations of Foo, Chow, and
Sien. As far as this point, our course appeared
to have been very winding and circuitous, pro-
bably to obviate some difficulties in the general
level near the Yellow river. We now appeared
to steer our proper course to the southward^
and the direction of the canal was more straight
and uniform. One remarkable circumstance in
our navigation was the lashing the boats toge^
ther by pairs, which our boatmen stated was
to prevent them drifting to leeward with the
wind.

At noon on the same day we reached the
feirge city of Hoae-gan^FoOj whose situation is
in every respect remarkable. A part of the
town was so much below the level of the canal,
that only the tops of the walls (at least twenty-
five feet high) could be «een from our boats.
This was something worse than the sword of
Damocles perpetually hanging over the inha-
bitants ; and yet it proved to be, next to Tien-
tsifiy by far the largest and most populous place

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278 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

we had yet seen^ the capital itself excepted. It
is melancholy to think that at a later date^ and
some time subsequent to our visit, this place
was completely flooded by the bursting of the
canal ! We may here repeat, what has been
remarked before, that a first-rate engineer
might find ample employment for his science^
and confer a benefit on China equal to the
introduction and di£bsion of vaccination there
by Pearson. These would be the proper
forerunners of the missionaries,'*^ whose ob-
jects are not likely to be promoted by war
and the combined effects of opium and the
sword.

Hy attention was excited, in the immediate
vicinity of Hoae^gan-Foo, by the vast num-
b«:« of vessels which were ranged along the
banks of the canal in exact order ; and on in-
quiry it appeared that a command had been
issued by the local authorities, to make way in
this manner for the fleet of boats which con-
veyed the embassy. It was observed, at the

* One of thefte gentlemen, some years since, oddlj enough
dktstributed religious tracts fircnn an opiumHiliip.

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PAOUTING HIBN. 279

same time, tliat the viceroy himself of the
province could not expect such a mark of
respect It is probable, however, that the real
cause of this was rather the necessity for
leaving an open passage for our very numerous
flotilla of barges, than any intention to flatter
or compliment the embassy.

About six miles beyond the city we brought
to for the night, a guard of soldiers being
arranged on shore, with their tents pitched.
The Kinchae^ our conductor, apologised for
our stopping here, and stated that the contrary
wind had, by its violence, compelled the whole
fleet to stop short of their intended anchorage
by about forty ly. It would have been more
agreeable to our party had we remained at
Hoae^anrFoo, but there seemed a marked
anxiety to keep us away from their large cities^
if possible. Fortunately for us, circumstances
did not always, or indeed generally, render
this practicable.

On the morning of the 9th of October we
reached Paauying Hien, a populous place,
and, like the larger city which we had lately

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2S0 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

passed, considerably below the level of the
canal. Here, however, the artificial level was
not more than ten or fifteen feet above the
plain ; while at Hoaergan-Foo it was greatly
beyond that.

In the course of the day, while making an
excursion from the boats, we saw on the Paou*
ying Hoo^ an extensive swamp, or lake, on our
right, five or six boats crowded with the fish*
ing-birds, which they called Yu-ying, " fish-^
ing hawk," and others Yu-ya, " fishing duck,**
without much regard to specific accuracy. We
prevailed on one of the men to bring his boat
close to the shore, and had a narrow view of
them. They stand about as high as a goose,
but are not so heavy in make, with a very long
bill, of which the upper mandible is hooked
at the end, like all birds that prey on so slip-*
pery a subject as fish. Their colour on the
back is darkish, approaching to black, and they
appear to be something between a pelican and
a cormorant The people were very unwilling
to sell them, and with sufficient reason, as the
difficulty of training them for the service of

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FISHING BIRDS. 281

the fishing-boats must be considerable. They
were aU secured by the leg, and some had a
collar to prevent their gulping the fish.

We made great expedition during the 10th,
arid a party of us who went on shore to walk
were obliged to keep up a brisk pace for full
three hours. At noon we reached Chaou-pS^
a small neat town, where the houses, being
whitewashed, with a story above the ground
floor, and furnished with regularly built chim-
nies, had a very European look. In the course
of our walk we were forced by the rain to take
shelter in a temple, where they were making
some idols of clay. The country continued Xo
bear the same general appearance of a morass ;
there, for ihe first time, we observed the culti-
vation of rice, so universal in the southern
provinces of the empire. Since we had -been
to the south of the Yellow river, a very marked
improvement took place in the appearance of
everything; we were in fact approaching the
richest part of the empire, consisting of th^
tea and silk provinces.

The distance between the Yellow river and

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382 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

the Yang^tserhetmg by the canal is about a
hundred English miles, and we were now ra-
pidly approaching the last-named great stream,
along a considerable portion of which it was
destined that we should travel. From the
village of Chaov^pi to Yang-chow Foo, the last
large city to the north of the Keang, was forty
ly, and we accordingly did not reach the latter
place until night. To our surprise, instead of
stopping there, our whole squadron continued
its course, and did not come to an anchor
until a very late hour, at a place much nearer
to the great Keang, called Kaouming-tsze,
" the lofty and bright temple," where we found
amusement and occupation for several dajrs;
while the local advantages of an open, dry,
and very pretty country compensated for the
disappointment of not stopping at Yang-chow
Foo.

We met at this place the boats intended for
our voyage on the Yang-tsze Keang, They
were rather larger than our former ones, and
better calculated, by their comparative strength
of build, to buffet with the waves of the river.

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THE LOFTY AND BRIGHT TEMPLE. 283

concerning which the Chinese have formidable
ideas. On the morning after our arrival, we
expressed a desire to see a very elegant-looking
Paou'td, or pagoda, which was close at hand,
and some mandarins politely attended us to
view it. This was the tower of five stories
mentioned by Desguignes, who merely viewed
it from his boat in passing ; but it consists of
seven stories, two of which are hidden by the
other buildings. It was situated in the inner
court of a temple of Budha, founded by one
of the emperors, the outer walls of which
were accordingly painted dark red. Contrary
to the advice of the mandarins and priests,
who stated that it required repair, we ascended
the spiral staircase to the fifth story, the two
others being inaccessible. The solid brick-
work of this lofty tower, (which we calculated
to be one hundred and forty feet in height,)
was surrounded at each story by a light
wooden verandah roofed with varnished tiles,
and hung at the corners with bells. The view
from the highest point we reached was beauti-
ful, commanding a great extent of country, and

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284 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

including within the range of vision the city
of Yang-chow Foo to the north, the celebrated
Kimhan, or "golden island/' to the south-
east, and the great Keang, like a branch of the
sea, extending away to the south-west as far as
the eye could reach.

These truly Chinese towers are so con-
stantly a leading feature in the scenery of the
country, that they deserve some particular
notice. A good account of them is contained
in the first part of Dr. Morrison s dictionary.
The Paou-ta is generally, though not always,
placed on an eminence; the inside is hollow
through the centre to the very top, and there
is a spiral stair in the wall around, not unlike
those in the well known columns at Rome,
London, and Paris. The term Paourta has
a reference to Budha ; these monuments are
in fact dedicated to him, and were introduced
with his religion into China.

At Shaouking Foo, in the province of Can-
ton, there is a pagoda to which many people
repair, and present a sum of money from six
to a hundred dollars, in order to illuminate it.

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CHINESE PAGODAS. 285

There is supposed to be a merit in this act
which ensures prosperity to the donors, and the
priests are dispensed, by these liberal donations,
from the necessity of going forth to solicit alms,
like the generality of their order. The pago-
das are commonly of five, seven, or nine stories,
and the most modern ones are usually the
lowest. We shall presently have to notice
the famous " porcelain tower" of Nanking.

The temple, in one of the courts of which
stood the pagoda already described, was not
unlike the celebrated one near Canton. The
priests were very attentive and polite, and enter-
tained us in the principal hall with much
ceremony, presenting tea and refreshments.
Their salute was, as usual, with the two palms
joined, and unlike that of the laity in China.
A very large bell in one of the courts, which
was struck on the outside with a mallet to
make it sound, they informed me was to rouse
the attention of Budha to their prayers; a
measure highly requisite, if we were to judge
from the stupid and sleepy countenance of
their god.

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286 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

The transHshipment of the baggage and
stores into our new boats was, as before, a
long and operose process, entailing a delay at
this place of two or three days. This gave us
time to examine every object of interest in the
neighbourhood. Among the rest was a small
temple, enveloped in trees, on a rising ground
at no great distance from our boats. The
priests were of the Budhist persuasion, and
showed us round the hall, containing idols of
the Indian god in his threefold personification.
They presented us with some copies of their
books of prayers, and recommended them
with much solemnity of manner to our atten-
tion.

From hence we proceeded to view a large
pond, overhung with weeping willows, in front
of the temple. The priest furnished us with
pieces of bread or cake, which being thrown
into the water were greedily swallowed by fish
of two or three feet in length. One of the
principal tenets of the Budhiste being the
preservation of animal life, most of these tem-
ples maintain, in a similar state of well-fed

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SACRED FISH- 287

security, some particular kind of animal. Here
it was fish ; but near Canton the selection was
less agreeable, as it consisted in a herd of
overgrown swine, in a disgusting state of dirt
and obesity. The priests told us that to at-
tempt the lives of their privileged fish with
either nets or lines, would be a crime of the
deepest dye.

We observed, for the first time since we
had been in the north of China, some bam-
boos in this place, of a growth and size much
inferior to those in the south; proving that
the climate here was not sufficiently warm for
their full development The growth of par-
ticular plants, when their habits are ascertained,
is not a bad criterion of climate; and I was
rather surprised to find a tropical plant, like
the bamboo, growing at all so far north aa
latitude 32^ degrees.

On the evening of the same day our legate
Kwong visited the ambassador in his boat^ and
talked as usual of trifling and indifferent mat-
ters, being always anxious to avoid anything of
an official or business-like nature. He had \he

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888 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

vanity to state 'that the mandarins and others
in this province had changed their summer
caps for winter ones, after his example^ and
in compliment to him, not waiting for the
viceroy; the inference from which was, that
(as a special imperial commissioner) he was a
greater man than the viceroy himself.

The cap is the most ceremonial appendage
among the Chinese. With the ball on its coni-
cal top it is a distinctive mark of titular rank.
As on most other occasions, their customs as to
covering the head are the very reverse of our
own. We consider it a mark of respect to un-
cover the head ; with them it would be a great
violation of decorum, unless among intimates,
and with leave previously asked. In hot wea-
ther, when friends interchange visits, and it is
more agreeable to be uncovered, the host says
to his guest, " Shing kwdn /" — raise, or put oflF
the cap, — after which the scruple no longer
exists.

We had every reason to be pleased with the
behaviour of the mandarins in charge of our
embassy through this part of China, Their

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ATTENTION OF THE MANDARINS. 289

conduct in regard to the change into our new
boats was most willing and accommodating.
As the approaching voyage along the Yangtse-
keangy after quitting the canal> did not admit
of our daily meeting to dine together in the
same boat, arrangements were made for living
entirely on board our respective vessels; in
which, as before, we were divided into parties
of two, three, or four persons, with the several
attendants. There was every prospect of our
finding the new boats sufficiently comfortable,
and rather larger than the previous ones.

VOL. I.

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SJ90

CHAPTER X.

A man drowBodr-rinhiuaaiiity o£ the criew^r^iiidwcrii»iB0te
law of homicide-^tale of the Poofi. Scholai^ in illufstra^
tion — a misfortune remedied — a calamity — measures of
coiKcealment — ^the doctor called — fails to come — ^a slave
puniriied— his reyesge — ^the^ aobolaiy aoo^sAd — ex^ideoioe
against hinj — ^forced admission of gi41t — a ghqetr-tii^
dead alive — a scheme of villany disclosed — the accused
acquitted — conclusion.

Before taking a final leave of the grand
canal> we may notice an incident whicli oc-
curred on board the boat in which I travelled,
and which made a strong impression on my
mind, evincing as it did the eflFects of the
indiscriminating character of Chinese law in
cases of homicide, accidental or otherwise.
The boatmen had been feasting on certain
sacrifices and oblations of eatables and drink-
ables, considered indispensable upon entering
the canal; the smallest possible quantity of
which good things had been thrown overboard

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A MAN StROHTNED. S9l

far the goda» and tha horn's shaise Tei^ prur
dently kept for the sacrificers — pro saltite. co^^
porum.

It appeared that one of the crew had heeome
so zealously; drunk aa ta occasion; hia &llmg
overboard in the dark} but his messmates;
being either in a similar condition themsdves;
QX a&aid t# mterfere, he was drownied. Not a
Chinese hand was i^etehed ta save him,.-—
to use a native phrase, they had ''iron heasts
and stone entrails," tdh. $m, shi ehang. But
some of our own people bestirred themeelves^
and at length drew him up, though not be&re
he waa egaitst dead.

Whetti oul: of the water^ our Chinese crew
would not let the body be brought on board ;
so it was. carried in the punt on shore, and
subjected to a kind of inquest by the local
mandarin, who at length directed that it
should be buried. The extraordinary coqduct
of our boat-people on diis occasion was only
to be explained by the state of the Chinese
law, which always regards the individuals last
seen with the deceased as primd facie guilty,

o2

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292 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

and treats mere witnesses as harshly as cri-
minals.

I have often seen face-slapping (no slight
punishment in it^self) inflicted on a witness;
and, where any particular point is to be gained,
they apply the ancle-pressers to men and the
thumbikins to women. This may fully ac-
count for the fright with which every Chinese
regards the mandarines tribunal. The magis-
trate has^ in fact, an undue interest in finding
some one guilty of homicide, as in case of fail-
ing to detect the perpetrator he is in dangar
of punishment himself.

This subject is somewhat illustrated by a
story familiar to the popular literature of the
Chinese,, and forming one of a collection from
which Pere Dentrecolles made some French
translations. A short precis of this will an-
swer our purpose as well as a translation, and
occupy less time and space. There lived, then,
in the province of ChS-keangy a certain scholar
named Wong^ whose whole time was passed
among his books. He had a wife, who was
a model of perfection, excepting only that.

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TALE OF THE POOR SCHOLAR. 293

in lieu of a fitmily of sons, she had borne
him a single daughter. In other respects she
suited our scholar perfectly, and they lived
together in the most undisturbed harmony.

One fine day in spring a few friends called
upon Wong, and persuaded him to accompany
them on an excursion beyond the town*
Transported by the beauties of the season,
they thought of nothing but diversion. An
entertainment was ordered to be provided, at
which the friends regaled themselves; and
before they separated to their homes, a good
number of cups had been "drunk on the
premises/*

Wong^ on returning to his house, found at
the door two of his servants engaged in an
altercation with a stranger. They complained
that he wanted them to pay too dear for some-
thing that they had just purchased out of a
basket which he carried; while he, on the
other hand, maintained that the price was a
fair one. Our scholar, after asking some ques-
tions, turned round to the man, and telling him
that he was already very well paid, bade him

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294 SKETCHES OF CHMA.

b^one, and not make sueH mn uproar at his
door.

The stranger npoa tins complained of the
hardship t)f being denied his due> «nd xe-
proadied Wong wkh dxe intentkm of oppress-
ing a poor man like himself. The latter, who
had just quitted his drinking party, flew into
a violent rage, "Rascal Aat you are," f^ifl
he, ''how dare you addnsss ^ur betters in this
style r And with lh», anmindfol that the
stranger was an old man, he pushed him vio»
lently and threw him on his back. For thfe
intemperate conduct Wong wsa &lly punished
by his fright, when he perceived that the pow
man lay^ without sense or motion.

He cried out for hdp, and with the assist-
ance of his domestics conveyed the stranger
into a neighbouring apartment There they
plied him with hot tea, until he at length re-
covered from what appeared to be only a
swoon. Wong, after making many eKCUses for
his own violet conduct, gave him some wine to
revive him, and added a present of a piece of
silk, which the poor man might turn to some

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acccmnt. Thifi ^ood trciatmeHt converted th6
stMnget's mlsfoii:ui]fe into something like ^ood
luck; he retuliMfd a thousand thanks^ and
taking his kave repaired to the banks cf the
river, tvhi^h it wto tte^essarjr for him to t^ross
before sight.

Oould Wong have lo^ed into ftiturity, he
tv^mld have detained the old mail 'SOme tin(^e in
his hou^> and thereby ^Voided the calamity
whi^ vm& destined so soon to overtake him.
No sooner> howevei^, had the troublesome guest
departed, than he hurried into the house, and
began to take credit to hknself witt his wife
for being so well rid of a bad business.

As it was now late, the lady summoned iie!r
domestics, and ordered sApper. She made her
husband drink a good cup of warm wiAe to
recover him from the effects of the late fright ;
and he had alf^eady regained his spirits and
began to fe^l tiimself comfortable, when ia loud
knocking was heard at the door. 'N^at could
this hiean? He seized a lamp, and hurried
to inquire the cause at the entrance, where he
found the kead man of tke passage-boat, by

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296 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

which the river is crossed, holding in his hand
the piece of silk and the basket of the old
stranger who had lately departed.

On seeing Wong the boatman cried out,
" You have got into a dreadful scrape ; it is all
over with you! How could a scholar like
yourself kill a poor travelling pedlar?" This
came like a thunderbolt upon the unfortunate
Wong, and he asked the other in a fright to
explain himself. " Don't you understand me T
said the boatman. ** Look at this piece of silk
and this basket." Wong then said that an
itinerant dealer had come to his house, and
that the silk and the basket certainly belonged
to him. " How came these things," added he,
" into your possession T

"It was already dark," replied the other,
"when the owner of them applied to me for
a passage in my boat. Scarcely had he em-
barked, when he was seized with an internal
pain which reduced him to extremity. As he
lay dying, he informed me that it was the con-
sequence of the blows which you had inflicted
on him. 'Take this piece of silk/ said he.

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A CALAMITY. 297

'and this basket, — they will serve as proofs
when you bring my murderer (as I conjure
you to do) to justice.' So saying he expired."

Poor Wong was so terrified at this story that
he could not utter a word. His heart was
agitated like that of a young deer, which beats
itself against its prison in trying to escape.
Recovering himself a little, he at length ex-
claimed, " What you say is impossible/' Never-
theless he desired a domestic to proceed to the
vessel, and to satisfy himself of the real truth.
This man on his return declared that the dead
body was really there.

Wong was a man of a timid nature, and
devoid of all presence of mind. He rushed
into his house in a state of distraction, and
telling his wife what had occurred, *'I am a
lost man," cried he; *'the storm is ready to
burst upon my head. I see no help for it
but to bribe the boatman to dispose in some
way of the corpse !"

With that he took a packet of silver which
made in all about twenty taels, and returned
to the boatman. "I depend," said he, "on your

o3

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298 SKETCHES OP CHINA.

keeping my secret, and am going to speak to
you in confidence. I certainly brought this
unhappy affiiir upon myself, but it was more
from accident than malice. We are both of
the same district, and I trust that you will
behave to me as a neighbour. Would you
ruin me for the sake of a stranger? Is it not
better to hush up this matter? My gratitude
shall be proportioned to your kindness. Take
the body; throw it into some out-of-the-way
place; the darkness of the night favours the
design.**

" Where shall I throw it?' replied the boat-
man : " if somebody should chance to discover
it to-morrow, and the case comes before the
magistrate, I shall be considered as a sharer in
the murder, and be mixed up with yourself for
my pains."

" You know," said Wongy " that the burial-
place of my father is near to this, and that it
is a retired spot. The night is dark, and there
is no chance of meeting any one. Be so good,
then, as to transport the body on board your
boat."

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MEASURES Ot CONCfeALMENT. ^&9

" This is very well," said the boatman, "but
how will you pay me for this service?" Wong
now took out the packet of silver, and gavfe it
to him. The boatman weighing It In his hand,
exclaithed, with a look of disdain, " Here is a
man killed, and you pretend to be quit of it
at this cheap rate ! It was my good fortuilfe
which brought the old man to me — a chance
has been afforded for bettering my conditibn —
a hundred taels is the least I can expect."

The poor scholar, in his anxiety to get out
of the scrape, did not venture to dispute it
with him ; but returning into the holisfe col-
lected what silver remained, together with some
other erfects, which inade up a sum of about
sixty taelfe, which he delivered to the boat-
man, telling him it was all that his poverty
afforded. The other then relented, fltnd Said
that he should be contented with this, and
hoped for his good offices as a man of lettef s
hereafter.

Wong then gave the boatman something to
eat, and in the tnean while desired two of his
domestic slaves to prepare shovdls and hoes.

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300 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

With these they went on board the boat, and
proceeded in it to the place of sepulture, where
they selected a spot in which the ground was
soft, and easy to be worked. Having dug a
grave, and interred the body, they all returned
to the house ; but the whole transaction had
occupied the night, and when they came back
it was already dawn. The scholar retired to
his apartment, to talk over his misfortune with
his wife.

" Alas,** cried he, " that a man of my pro-
fession, and of so ancient a family, should be
reduced so low by a wretched scoundrel!" His
wife here tried to console him, by arguing that
it was his inevitable destiny, and that he should
submit with patience. " Thank heaven," said
she, " that it is no worse with you in so dan-
gerous a predicament. Go and take some re-
pose — you have need of it after such a night."
Wong took her advice, and retired to rest.

After the lapse of some time, our scholar,
finding that the late unfortunate affair remained
unnoticed, procured some offerings to the gods,
and thanked them, in conjunction with his

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" MISFORTUNES TRAVEL BY EXPRESS.** 301

ancestors. The boatman in the mean while
sold his vessel, and with the money which he
had obtained from poor Wong he set up a
shop and addicted himself to trade.

The scholar had been betrayed into the ut-
most improvidence and want of foresight in
only burying the dead body, instead of burning
it, by which means he would have destroyed
all traces of the unfortunate occurrence. In-
stead of which, he behaved like those who only
cut down the weeds, without rooting them up,
and thus leave the sources of future trouble.

It is an old and true saying, " that good luck
comes leisurely, but misfortunes travel by ex-
press." The only daughter of Wong had just
commenced her third year, when she was at-
tacked by a very virulent small-pox. They
prayed for her — they consulted the lots — ^and
called in good medical aid — ^but all in vain.
The father and mother passed days by the bed-
side of the sick in tears. At length they dis-
covered that there was one doctor in the neigh-
bourhood, deeply skilled in the treatment of the

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3t)& ^KEt^HES OP CAlNA.

disease, fend \^ho had sitved the lives of matiy
persons afflicted with it.

The scholar immediately wrote a Very press-
ing letter, which he delivered to one of his
domestic slav^, charging him to hasten with
all diligtoce. He counted the hoUi^ in hop^s
of the doctor's arrival, but he never came.
Hie disease in the mean time gtew worse, and
the child "^at length died amidst th^ tears and
lamentation ot her parents.

The messenger did not retuiii until th6 next
day. His aftdwet Was, **thftt the doctor iiad
been froni hotne, tod that he Wiiited the whole
day for him to no purpose." The grief of the
unhappy Wong wa^ renewed at this recital.
" Alas,** cried he, *' it wai^ the destiny of my
poor daughter that she should be denied the
succour of so able a physician!" and with that
his tears flowed afresh.

A few days afterwards it (ittme to liglit,
through the ftieanii of the other domestics, that
the messenger, instead of delivering his com-
mission, had stopped to drink at k tavern mid-

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A SLAVE PUNIfettEl>. 30S

way. Having made himself tipty, lie lost the
letter with which he was charged, and then
returned home to concert the lie which he had
told to his master. Transported with indigo
nation, the scholar summoned his other slaves,
" Take that scoundrel," cried he, " lay him
down on the ground and give him fifty blows
with the bamboo as hard as you can." When
he had seen this done, he retired to his apart*
ment overcome 'with grief.

The slave, half dead with his flagellation,
rose up and retired to his quarters. Being na-
turally a very brutal fellow, this punishment
roused all his evil passions. "Ah," said he, "this
flogging shall cost you very dear, my master !—
I will be handsomely revenged." After a little
consideration he made up his mind as to the
mode ; " As soon as I have recovered from this
beating," cried he, " you shall see what I can
do in the way of return !"

Our scholar in the mean while, a victim to
his sorrow, was invited by some relations to
spend a little time among them, and there he
gradually learned to bear with his fate. On

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304 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

his return to his own house, as he was walking
about at leisure, a number of the police sud-
denly made their appearance, and coming up
to poor Wong threw a chain round his neck.
" What r exclaimed the scholar, in consterna-
tion — "do you treat one of my profession in
such away as this ?**

The police, however, only made a jest of his
remonstrances, telling him that " a scholar had
no business to commit murder.*' So saying,
they dragged him before the tribunal of the
magistrate, where, as soon as they had placed
him upon his knees, he perceived the slave,
who had become his accuser, and who betrayed
in his countenance the joy that he felt at his
master's disgrace. It became at once clear that
the fellow had originated this prosecution in
revenge for his late punishment.

"You stand accused," said the magistrate,
" of the murder of a travelling vendor;Of goods.
What have you to say to this charge?" "Ah,
sir," exclaimed Wong, " holding as you do the
delegated office of the just heavens, do not listen
to the calumnies of this wretch. Consider that

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THE SCHOLAR ACCUSED. 305

a scholar by profession, weak and timid as I
am, could hardly have fought with and killed
another man. My accuser is one of my own
slaves, whom I detected in a heavy oflFence, and
punished according to the right which I pos-*
sessed over him. In revenge he has contrived
this plot for my ruin ; but I look to your wis-
dom and justice to unmask his dark schemes.'*

The slave, when he had touched the ground
with his forehead, interposed by entreating the
magistrate not to listen to the stories of that
scholar, who had great skill in misrepresenta-
tion. The bones of the murdered man, he
added, were still in the place of burial. Let
them be examined ; if found, they would prove
the fact ; if not, he would be content to suflFer
the full penalties of a false accuser.

The magistrate accordingly sent a party to
the spot, where, under the guidance of the
slave, they searched for and found the body in
question. No possibility of distinguishing it
remained, but they carried it on a litter to the
court of the magistrate, who, when he had viewed
the same, declared that the accusation was sub-

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306 &b:£1«&ei^ Of WttsA.

eftantiated. Ute qioedtiM ^h^ abotlt tx> be %p*
plied to the "pc/ot 'sefeoW, wheti he eiitrea*ed
to bfe heard aft follows^"-

'^The state of this k>dy Mnil pt6te thftt it
has b^ti long under gix)tin4. If, then, I wte
the ttiutderer, why did toy aecuser ttck dfe^
ftounce toe befove ? It is quite iis likely thii.t
he placed it there hitoself, to bring thiis change
against me/* '*' There is som6 reason in lliis,"
said the toagistrafce; but the slaVe defck^d
that the neighbours would prore such h pef>
son as the deceased having come at a particular
bygone dat6 to the scholal^'s house, and thei^
been sttnick hy hito.

Some of the neighbours ivere isifeCotdihgly
summoned, and aSsked if they knew anything
of the circutoStatices. They declared '^that
the techolat, at a particular date, had beaten a
man who catoe to his door, in such a toannfer
ais appareUtly to have killed him. He was re-
vived, however, after an interval; and since
then they had heard nothing of hito.*' The
poor scholar was overcome by this Weight of
evidence against himfeelf, ^nd could ^^y Uothiii)^
more.

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FORCED ADMSSSION OF GUILT. 307

"^Tlie porisoiier is eleiBLrly guiky^** said the
magistrate^ ^' but he will confess nothiag until
he is compelled. Giv«e him tlie t>astonade.'*
In an instant two executioia^rs of the court
seized upon Wmig wi)^ ^ loud <cry, ^nd laid
him Bt length on the ground, wlier^ they
applied twenty blows with the bamboo, well
hdd on. He icould ill bear up against Hiis,
axKi to aroid worse treatment readily confessed
to all that was demanded*

*'You deserve death/' observied ttie judge,
''but as the relations of the deceased have not
yet appeared, there is still tune to pass sen*
tenee. When these shall have elahned the
body, I will determine on tie mode of punish-
ment." The scholar was fortliwith conducted
feo prison, and the remains of ^ body re^
interred where they had been found, with a
strict injunction that they should lie undis-
turbed until the relations appeared.

The slave retired well pleased with the
results of his malicious accusation ; but when
the poor scholar's wife was informed of the
proceedings at the Mandarin's court, by those

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308 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

whom she had despatched for the purpose, her
grief and alarm deprived her of sense and
motion. As soon as the first access was over,
this unhappy woman collected the money that
was in the house, and taking with her two fe-
male domestics, repaired to the prison where
her husband was confined.

The meeting was a very mournful one. As
soon as he could speak, the poor scholar ex-
claimed against the malicious wretch who had
brought all this upon him, and expressed his
conviction that the blackness of his perfidy
must one day be punished. This was their
only hope and consolation in the midst of a
calamity for which there seemed no present
prospect of a remedy. Compelled at length to
separate from her husband, the scholar's wife
distributed such a sum among his guards as
was calculated to diminish the hardships of his
treatment.

Her servants, in the mean while, were in
great affliction for their master, and as little
able as herself to devise a remedy for his mis-
fortune. While they were assembled together

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A GHOST. 309

in the house^ an old man suddenly made his
appearance^ bringing with him some presents,
and inquiring for their master, if he was at
home. In another moment the servants were
tumbling over one another as they made their
escape in all directions, crying out " it was a
ghost r' This was the apparition of the old
man supposed to have been killed.

"Are you all mad?" said the ghost, as he
seized one of them by the arm, " I come to see
your master. What do you take me for?"
The scholar's wife, hearing the uproar, came
out to inquire the cause, when the old man
advanced and respectfully saluted her, saying,
" Madam, you doubtless recollect the last time
I was here. The kindness of the scholar, your
husband, is not forgotten by me. I remember
the supper he gave me, and the present of a
piece of silk, and have brought back some
trifles on my way through the country, which
I beg to offer to your husband. I cannot
imagine what has led your domestics to take
me for a wandering spirit." *

* Kwei^ the name applied to Europeans.

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310 SKETGBBft OP CHINA.

Owe oi At- servanls from a oonmr <^ die: en^
olo8it]!e roared out^ '' Madom, take care ! It is
die gbostof the dead ceme on purpose to: conif^
pfete die nmi of our master." ^Silence !"" escH
claimed the sQholar^s wife^ ^ I am persuaded
k k no ghosts but die old man himself. 1^
kusband has suflfered gready on your account !"
added she, addressing die stranger.

«< What !" cried he, astonished to hear this,
^* what could I have done to kagure so wordiy a
person?" S^ dfeen reeounted in a. few words
how the boatman had produced a dead body
on die same dark nighlv and asserted it to be
his, tc^edier with die basket and die piece of
silk. How die same boatman had been gained
over by money to conceal the circumstances^
and to assist in interring the dead body. How
the vindictive slave had afterwards denounced
his master for a murderer, and the train of
evidence, widi the torturci which had led to
her husband's forced confession and condemna*
don.

The old man struck his breast as he listened'
to this strange recital. " Madam," exclaimed

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A SCHEl^i: QF VUil^AKT DISQLOSED. $U

Ipie, " U[.it p^spjibl^ that such ^ wiietph c^ix exist?
\ wmt. ^t^^ht from ypw housQ ta the boat,
Seeing th^ piece. qI* silk* thfi boatman* ask^ me
where I obtained it,. I tjoW him vejry trixjy. that
hayUig been, steuqk by: the. sdiQlar, your hus-
band^ I lay for some time without motion*
TiVt. ou reoQvcjriDg I was vejy kiodlj treated,
ao4 presented widai that piefiQ of silk. He
a^ked me to sell it, to him, which. I did, Hcf
Ukewise. wished to have my basket ojf. bamboo,
aftd this I delivered in paymmt for my passage.
Qould I imagme he possessed himself of these,
things to put, in practice so horrible a Sji^hem^
of trewhery V

" Until you appeared,*' said the lady, " I.
myself was cpnviojced that you were, dead^ But
where could, that body have come from,, which
the boatman said was your's?" After a little
recollection, " I understand it," cried the old
man ;, *' while I was on board, detailing my
history to the boatman, I saw a body floating
on the water ; I observed it attentively, and am
sure it was the corpse of some person drowned
by accident, That bqatman is a dreadful mon-

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312 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

ster ! — There is no time to be lost — receive, I
pray you, these little presents, and let us proceed
at once to the audience of the magistrate. I
will convince him of the false accusation, and
obtain the liberty of the scholar, your hus-
band."

The scholar's wife presently drew up an ad-
dress to the magistrate, detailing the particu-
lars, and then proceeded with the old man to
the audience. Arrived there, they both de-
clared the innocence of the accused, and an-
swered the various queries that were addressed
to them. As the mandarin seemed to suspect
some collusion between the parties, the old
man named several, inhabitants of the place,
who knew him personally, and who, on being
summoned, immediately recognised him, ex-
pressing their astonishment at seeing him still
alive.

Secrecy having been enjoined on all the par-
ties, the magistrate ordered some of his people
to search out the boatman who had invented
the tale of the old man's death, and to bring
him into court, together with the malicious

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THE ACCUSED ACQUITTED. 313

slave who had originated the false accusation
against his master. The scholar's wife in the
mean while hurried to the place of her hus-
band's confinement, and rejoiced him by the
announcement of his approaching deliverance.

The boatman, who little suspected what
awaited him, hurried to the audience with
great confidence, but, on seeing the unexpected
stranger, betrayed the terror which suddenly
seized him. *' Friend," cried the old man,
" how have you been since that day when I
sold you the piece of silk and the bamboo
basket? Has trade thriven with you lately?'
The slave was next introduced. " Do you
know that man V asked the magistrate, point-
ing with his finger to the aged stranger sup-
posed to be dead. The same astonishment and
terror were visible in his countenance, and
both the rogues stood as it were entranced, and
unable to utter a word.

Being put to the question, these two mis-
creants presently confessed the whole of their
guilt. The boatman's statement corroborated
the account given by the old man. " There

VOL. I. p

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814 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

is only one point;" observed the magistrate,
*' which I do not understand. How happened
it that a dead body was found so opportunely
by the boatman, and that it so exactly resem-
bled the old man? He must have committed
the murder himself, and sought to fasten it on
the other."

" Alas, sir T exclaimed the boatman, " when
I saw a corpse floating on the water, it seined
easy to deceive the scholar Wong, and die
same motive led me to buy the silk and the
basket from the old man. The darkness of the
night was such that they fsdled to detect the
trick. I swear that I am utterly ignorant of
the history of the dead body, but suppose it
was some person who fell into the river and
was drowned." The old man here interposed,
and confirmed this part of the evidence by
saying that he saw the floating corpse himself.

" Have pity on me," cried the boatman ; " I
wished only to obtain the scholar's money,
without injuring his person!" *' Wretch!"
exclaimed the mandarin, ^ do you dare to ask
for mercy after contriving the ruin of an inno*

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CONCLUSION OF THE TALE. Si 5

cent man? As for the slave, lie deserves an
equal punishment. Take these two villains,
throw them on the ground, give the slave forty
blows with the bamboo ; and let the boatman
have double that number."

The justice of heaven would no longer permit
these wretches to exist. The slave expired
under his forty blows, and the boatman as soon
as he had received seventy. The scholar Wong
was forthwith liberated from prison, and the
mandarin in open court declared his innocence,
while he restored him to his family. He at
the same time commanded that all the effects
which had been acquired by the boatman, in
trading with the money which he had extorted
from Wong, should be delivered into court.
These amounted to a considerable sum.

" According to rule," said the magistrate,
" these eflfects should be confiscated ; but, in
consideration of the losses and sufiFerings of the
scholar Wong, let the property of the criminal
go to him whom he robbed and injured."

When they had returned thanks to the man-
darin for his just and impartial adjudication.

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316 SKETCHES OF CHINA.

the scholar and his wife returned home, where
they testified in the most lively manner their
gratitude to the old man who had exerted
himself to relieve them from such a load of
misery.

END OF VOL. I.

Loxdon: Printed by William OLowcsand Soma. Stamford Street.

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